Protect You From Your Shadows
by celestialdimplez
Summary: When Lisanna comes back, Lucy's not upset when Natsu spends so much time with her. But when she is replaced by Lisanna on the team, Lucy's heart get's broken. Add in a confusing one nightstand with Natsu and a dark guild after her and her unborn child's magic, and you have a recipe for a drama. What will happen to Lucy? Please R&R! Rated M. Some lemon.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **This is my first fanfic. I am a HUGE NaLu fan and I have been working on this story for some time. Getting the idea for the story and writing the story out is harder than it looks, so I hope I did an okay job. This story has a lot of twists and turns and I am hoping that it would be different than some other stories out there. Anyway, I'm writing a little too much right now. This first chapter is Lucy's POV. Next will be Natsu's and then a little bit of Lisanna's. I hope you all like it. **Please R&R!**

**Disclaimer: **I wish I could claim ownership to Fairy Tail, but sadly I can't.

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**Lucy's POV:**

*Knocks on a door* "Master? Are you in there?" I asked.

"Yes. Come in, my child," Master replies. I entered his office and he put down some papers on his desk that he was reading to look up at me. "Is everything okay, Lucy?"

I closed the door behind me and lowered my head. I didn't want to look Master in the eye while I talked to him. I didn't want to see the look on his face, which I knew would be a look of sadness. "No, Master. Actually everything is not okay. I just decided that I want to leave Fairy Tail for a while."

"Why, Lucy? Why do you want to leave?" I didn't have to look up to know that Master was in shock. I heard the shock and sadness in his voice.

"It's complicated Master, but me leaving is the best thing right now." I built up courage to look Master in the eye so that he could see that I was telling the truth. Me leaving Fairy Tail was for the best, even if it wasn't the whole truth of why I was leaving.

Master looked at me for a moment, and then hopped off his desk. He walked up to me and had a serious expression on his face. "Lucy…if you are in trouble, you can count on your guild to protect you. Even if your guild is the problem, we can work it out."

His words pulled at my heartstrings. There is nothing in the world I would rather do than count on my nakama to protect me, but if I involved them, they would only end up getting hurt, and I'd be damned if I caused them pain. So, I smiled at Master and shook my head. "It's nothing like that, Master," I lied. "I just thought that I would take a few years to train and get stronger. And one more thing Master. Please don't tell anyone that I am gone. If anyone asks, tell them that I am on a solo mission that will take some time to complete."

Master nodded his head and then said, "Okay, my child. Though Fairy Tail will be sad without you, I will honor your request. Just let me hold your hand."

I gave Master my hand and he held it for a moment while tears streaked down his face. Then he covered my insignia with hand and a glow appeared. When he pulled his hands away, my insignia was gone, and I started to cry. From now on I was on my own, but it had to be this way. I looked at Master's face on last time before I left his office and headed for the stairs. I tried to look normal as possible leaving the guild so I wouldn't attract unwanted attention. It's a good thing that Team Natsu was on a mission as well, otherwise I would have never been able to leave peacefully.

As I walked back to my house, I remembered the events that started this all. It played back in my mind like a movie.

**Flashback, Lucy's POV:**

_It was four months after Lisanna's return from Edolas. Everyone was so happy that she was home and the guild was partying nonstop. Team Natsu (with the exception of me) was always by Lisanna's side, and I didn't mind since they had a lot to catch up on. I was truly happy to see Natsu's childhood friend home where she belonged and I was also happy to see Natsu happy to have her back. It didn't bother me so much that they spent less and less time with me and so much with her. After all, two years is a long time to be away from someone, so I busied myself with taking solo missions to pay my rent on time, and I spent some time continuing my book. _

_Then one day, as I sat on my regular stool at the bar, Natsu came over and sat next to me. He looked at Mira (who was cleaning some beer mugs) to give us some privacy. After she left us, Natsu turned to me. "Luce, we need to talk."_

"_Sure, Natsu. What's on your mind?"_

"_Well," he started while scratching behind his head, "since you already take solo missions and had a lot of time to yourself, we were wondering if we could switch you out of the team and have Lisanna take your place."_

_I was in shock. Granted as a team I was separated from them a lot, but it was only so that they could catch back up with Lisanna. I never thought that they wouldn't want me to return to them, let alone replace me with Lisanna. I was truly hurt, but as I looked at Natsu and saw that he really wanted this, I mustered up a smile and said, "Of course, Natsu. I don't mind."_

"_Really?" he said with a smile. "This is great, Luce. You're the best!" Then he left me at the bar and returned to Team Natsu and Lisanna to tell them the great news. They cheered after hearing it, and I decided that it was time for me to leave. _

_I left the guild and headed for my house. I felt the tears stinging my eyes, but I refused to let them drop until I reached the safety of my home. On my way there, I wasn't paying much attention to my surroundings and bumped into someone. I landed on my butt with a thud, and when I looked up, there was a man in a hooded cloak standing over me with his hand stretched out. I took his hand and he helped me up. "I am so sorry I bumped into you. I didn't see you there," I said._

"_It is no problem, Lucy Heartfilia," the man said._

_I snatched my hand from his and stared at him in shock. "How do you know my name?"_

"_I know a lot about you. Lucy Heartfilia. Celestial Mage with a moderate magic level, although you are stronger than most average Celestial Mages, but that alone isn't impressive." The man walked over to the alley that was to the side of us and then turned to face me again. "By touching you, I can sense what type of magic user you are and I can sense your magic level. You have potential, but you're not ready yet."_

"_Ready for what?" I asked him. I was confused by this conversation and a little scared that he could know so much about me just by touching me. I wanted to run away from him, but I needed to know what he was talking about._

"_Why, ready to join me silly," the hooded man replied._

"_And who are you and why would I join you?"_

"_You're not ready to know that now," the man said. "And with that, I bid you a farewell, Lucy." The man then turned into a shadow and joined the darkness that called him from the alley. _

_I stood there staring at the space where the man once stood, with my eyes wide from shock. _What was he talking about, _I thought to myself, but before I could think or panic over what just happened, I heard a very familiar voice calling my name. I closed my eyes and prayed to Mavis that I was hearing things, and when the calling stopped, I turned in the direction of my home and started to walk._

_Then the calling started, and I picked up the pace, but I should have known that I would never be able to out pace him. "Luce! I was calling you," the pink-haired dragon slayer exclaimed. "Why did you leave the guild?"_

"_I felt a little tired, so I thought it would be best to go home," I lied._

"_Wait Luce, you can't go home," Natsu said with a serious face._

"_Why not, Natsu?" I asked, hoping that he would notice that I lied about being tired and realized that I was actually sad to have been replaced by his side._

"_Well, the guild is having a party to celebrate Team Natsu's new member, and as an old member, I want you to be there."_

_I couldn't believe what I just heard. Natsu could be real dense, and I know he didn't intentionally mean to make me feel worse, but he did. I just wanted to tuck myself in a corner and cry, but I refused to shed a tear in front of Natsu. I couldn't show that he hurt me, not when he was happy to have Lisanna on his team. "Natsu, I really am tired," I said to try and get away._

"_Please, Luce. The party wouldn't be the same if you weren't there."_

Yeah right, _I thought. _You didn't care about me for four months while you were catching up with Lisanna. _After I thought that, I mentally kicked myself. I couldn't be mad at Natsu for that. After all, I took solo missions just so he could spend more time with Lisanna. I wasn't mad then so I couldn't be mad now. Then I looked at Natsu's face. He looked as if he really wanted me to be there, so I swallowed back sadness and decided to do this for my best friend. "Sure Natsu, but I'm not staying long."_

_Natsu grinned his toothy grin that I loved so much and yelled, "Alright! Let's go!" Then he grabbed my hand and headed back to the guild._

_**Six hours later…**_

_The guild was packed with passed out people lying wherever they landed. My head rested against the bar table while I sat in my regular stool. My head was aching from a mixture of alcohol and all the noise the guild members made while having fun at the party. The only people who weren't passed out were Mira, who was cleaning up the place, and Cana, who was still drinking from her beer barrel. _

"_Lucy? Can you do me a favor," Mira asked me from behind the bar. _

_I picked up my head and looked at her. "Sure, Mira. What do you need?"_

"_Can you take Natsu home?" she asked so sweetly. _

_I looked around the guild and saw a passed out Natsu lying on top of a table face down with his butt sticking in the air. I smiled at his position and turned back to Mira to see her smiling at him too. "Sure, no problem."_

"_Oh, that's so helpful, Lucy. I would do it, but there is just so much cleaning to be done."_

"_Of course I'd help out, Mira," I said to the take-over mage. I got up, shook Natsu awake, got him off the table and balanced his weight with mine by placing his arm around my shoulder. _

_We left the guild and I was holding Natsu up (who was surprisingly lighter than I thought) heading towards his home, when I realized that I had no clue where he lived. So I took him to my place instead and decided to let him crash there for the night._

_When we got to my house, I carried Natsu to my bed, and dumped him there and then took a shower to get rid of the sweat from partying all night. When I returned to my room, Natsu was out cold, sprawled out on my bed, and deciding against waking him up, I changed into my nightgown, climbed in my bed and went to sleep._

_I had the weird dream that night:_

_**Natsu woke up from his drunken state and woke me up with a passionate kiss. As I looked up at him with confusion in my eyes, he stared at me with dark hunger in his. "Natsu, what are you doing," I asked, and he replied by kissing me ferociously. I was in shock and didn't know what to do, but the feelings that I had for him rose up inside of me. As if they had a mind of their own, my hands curled around his head and played in his soft pink hair, while I kissed him back. He deepened our kiss since I joined in, and when he found an opening, he plunged his tongue into my mouth and our tongues danced with each other. **_

_**He broke the kiss so that we could breathe, but his mouth never left my body. He kissed his way down to my neck and found a sensitive spot where he allowed his tongue to play over. I moaned softly in his ear and my fingers tugged on his hair. Then he rose from me and removed his vest and his trousers. I didn't even have time to be shocked because when he threw his clothes on the floor, he moved back to me and pulled the hem from my nightgown up and over my face. I was embarrassed because I didn't bother wearing a bra, so when he removed my nightgown, my breasts were revealed for him to see. **_

_**He stared at me with a hungry grin, and I tried to cover my breasts with my arms, but he grabbed my wrists and held my arms on the pillow above my head. "Don't cover up what's mine to see, Luce," he whispered in my ear and then gently sucked on my earlobe.**_

"_**Natsu…" I moaned, trying to speak in between the delicious pleasure, "maybe we should slow down," but Natsu traced his tongue from my ear down to my neck, then to my collarbone, then to my mounds. Before I could protest further, her traced circles around my nipple, causing me to moan loudly, and then he engulfed my hardened nipple into his mouth. I moaned nonstop as he bite, tugged, sucked and just lavished my nipple, while twirling the other between his fingers. Then he switched nipples and repeated his actions. The whole time, I moaned and tugged at his hair, pushing his head down to give him better access. **_

_**When he was satisfied, he released my nipple and returned to my mouth, our tongues doing the tango, while his hand headed south for my panties. I felt a little heat over my skin and realized that he burned my panties to ashes. He separated my thighs with his knee, and without warning, he broke our kiss for me to catch air (which was useless) and thrust his shaft into my core. It took my breath away. I wasn't prepared for the pain, and Natsu held his position inside of me so that I could get adjusted to his size. Then he pulled out of me and thrust in again. After a while the pain was replaced with intense pleasure and Natsu's thrusts became fast and deep. **_

"_**Oh, Lucy…" Natsu groaned into my ear as he plunged into me. The pleasure was so good I began clawing at his back.**_

"_**Natsu…Ah!...Natsu!" I moaned. "You feel so good, Natsu!" **_

_**He pounded into me, filling me up with white-hot pleasure, and when I was ready to climax, he sped up his pace, until we both climbed to ecstasy together and came at the same time.**_

_**Natsu gently removed himself from inside of me, leaving me feeling empty, and collapsed on the bed next to me. He dragged me into his arms and held me there. "Lucy?"**_

"_**Mhm…" was my reply. I was so tired that I barely understood what he was saying.**_

"_**Lu…ou…b…ong…o…me…"**_

"_**Mhm?"**_

_And then my alarm clock went off. That was one weird yet steamy dream. I reached and turned off the alarm, and that's when I noticed that Natsu wasn't in the bed next to me. _He must have left earlier, _I thought. I decided to get up and head out to the guild as well. _

_When tried to sit up, but I was extremely sore between my legs. My eyes grew wide and fear rose inside of me. I threw back the covers to see if my nightgown was gone, but I was still wearing it. I sighed, _it was just a dream _I thought and got up carefully and headed to the bathroom. I removed my gown to take a shower when I noticed that my panties were missing. _Did I forget to wear panties last night? _I questioned myself. _

_When I couldn't find the answer in my head, I started to panic. _What if my dream wasn't a dream? But you had your nightgown on Lucy? Shouldn't it be on the floor where Natsu threw it? Natsu…_ I decided to hurry up and head over to the guild, and ask Natsu if he remembered anything weird last night. If my dream wasn't a dream, he would be the only person who would know._

_After I got dressed, I hurried to the guild. When I got inside, I didn't see the pink-haired dragon slayer anywhere. In fact, Team Natsu and Lisanna were nowhere to be found. I went over to the bar and sat at my regular stool and waited for the white-haired barmaid to come from the kitchen. _

"_Good morning, Lucy. You looked like you slept well," Mira greeted me as she returned behind the bar. "Is there anything I can get you?"_

"_Sure, some orange juice would be fine, Mira."_

"_Coming right up," she said gleefully. _

_She returned with a glass of orange juice and placed it in front of me. "Thanks Mira."_

"_You're welcome, Lucy."_

"_Say, Mira? Do you know where Natsu is?" I asked her._

"_Yup, the Team took a mission today," she said while cleaning some beer mugs._

"_Oh…" was all I could say. I didn't think they would take a mission together so soon. _

_Mira must have seen my gloomy mode change because she walked over to me and put her hand on my hand that was resting on the bar table. "I know Lucy," she said a little sad. "I miss seeing you with Team Natsu too, but don't worry. Maybe they'll realize that they miss you and they'll make you join the team again," she said with a cheery smile on her face._

_I loved Mira's enthusiasm, but I knew in my heart that Team Natsu wouldn't miss me. They had Lisanna now. I was just a temporary replacement, and that hurt. But what hurt more was that I finally recognized my feelings for Natsu before she came back, and now it seemed like my love would be unrequited. _

_Mira went back to the kitchen when Gajeel came to the bar. He sat next to me and just stared. It was a bit uncomfortable and when I realized that he wasn't going to say anything, I spoke. "Did you need something?"_

"_You and Salamander must have had one hell of a night," Gajeel said to me._

_I looked at him confused and asked, "Why would you say that?"_

"_Because I can smell him on you, bunny-girl." _

Smell him on me? What the hell is that suppose to mean? _I thought to myself. "What are you talking about Gajeel?"_

"_His scent is all over you like you guys slept together."_

"_Well, yeah he spent the night at my house and he was passed out on my bed. I couldn't move him so I slept next to him."_

"_Not that kind of slept together," he said with a grin before leaving the bar and going to the table that Levy was sitting at. It took me a moment to grasp exactly what he meant, and when I did, I shot up with wide eyes and a gaping mouth and ran out the guild. _

_Could Natsu and me have slept together? Was my dream real? I didn't know and since Natsu was on a mission, I thought there was no way to find out. Not paying attention to where I was going, I bumped into someone and fell down. When I looked up, there was a man standing above me with is hand extended for me to take. This gave me déjà vu. _

_I took the man's hand and he helped me up. "I am so sorry, sir. I should have paid better attention to where I was going," I said to him. When I looked at him, he was wearing a black trench coat, black pants and black combat boots. His hair was a dark purple and his bangs covered most of his deep blue eyes. He was paler than white and his face held a sinister grin on it. I pulled my hand back from him and stared at him, as he stared at me with that horrid smile._

"_It is no problem Miss. I should have watched where I was going. It's ungentlemanly of me to bump into such a pretty girl like you, especially when you're expecting. Pardon me," the man said and then walked away from me._

Expecting…_ that word registered to me the minute he walked by me. I turned around to ask him what he meant, but he was gone, as if he disappeared out of thin air. Then I turned to the alley next to me and something was familiar about this all. _

Expecting. Why would he think that I was expecting? And if I were, how would he know? _I thought to myself. Then, almost as if it slapped me in my face, I immediately remembered the night I was kicked off of Team Natsu. I met a man in the dark street wearing a hood, and he knew who I was just by touching me. If this guy was the same as that guy, then he would know about me when he helped me off the floor. And, if these guys where the same, then this guy didn't just disappear. He turned into a shadow like the other guy. _

_Then something else registered to me:_

"_**Ready for what?" I asked him. I was confused by this conversation and a little scared that he could know so much about me just by touching me. I wanted to run away from him, but I needed to know what he was talking about.**_

"_**Why, ready to join me silly," the hooded man replied.**_

"_**And who are you and why would I join you?"**_

"_**You're not ready to know that now," the man said. "And with that, I bid you a farewell, Lucy."**_

_That was part of the conversation that I had the night I met the first guy. If the guy I just bumped into was like the first guy, did he want me to join him too? And what if they were apart of the same guild, what would they want me for?_

_I ran to my house to get out of the street just in case I bumped into any more people, who could know me just by touching me. After making it to the safety of my home, I found a letter on my desk. Confused on how a letter could have gotten on my desk when my door was locked, I hesitantly opened it._

Lucy Heartfilia,

Allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Black Raven and I am apart of the dark guild Shadows of Darkness. Our meeting on the street that fateful night was no wishful encounter. My guild has been looking at your magical potential for months now. You peaked our interest when you took down a rival guild of ours a month ago. You knew them as The Holy Grail. We have been looking for a mage with a magic level like yours. To be more specific, we have looking for a Celestial Mage with a magic level like yours for our plans. When we first met, you were not ready to join us and frankly you still aren't, but I have been informed that you are carrying a Celestial Mage inside of you that will have a magic level that will be out of this world. You and your child will be necessary for our plans, and I will not disclose the details of those plans as yet. Just know this, in 10 months, we will come after and retrieve you and your child. Don't bother trying to find us to destroy us because we live in the shadows. You can't find something you can't see. Oh and one more thing, tell your guild about us and everyone of your precious nakama will die. Shadows live everywhere, so when you think you're safe, you're not. So, I think we have a good deal going here. You get to keep your life to nurture your growing baby for 10 months and then we'll come and collect you. And, if you don't tell Fairy Tail about what was disclosed in this letter and about us, then they get to keep their lives. Or do you want to be the reason for your friends' demise? The choice is yours, Miss Lucy. See you in 10 months.

_After reading the letter, I couldn't stop shaking. There was so much that my brain needed to process and all of the information was scaring the hell out of me. First, I was pregnant! Which could only mean that me and Natsu had sex last night. Even though there was a small part of my brain that was telling me there was no way that me and Natsu had sex, let alone me be pregnant, the rest of me knew that these guys weren't fucking around. If I were so important to them, then they would know what they were talking about. Second, a dark guild was after me for reasons undisclosed, and not just after me but my baby as well, for our magic levels? What the fuck was that anyway?_

_I put my hand to my stomach and thought to myself, _could I really be pregnant? _I mean we only slept together last night, could it really be that fast? I didn't want to take any chances. There was only one thing I could do. The guild gave me 10 months to nurture my baby inside of me before they came after me, which meant that I had to leave town before the guild found out about my baby, which would force me to have to tell them everything._

_I left my house and ran to the guild. Pushing open the doors, I headed for the bar. I saw Mira there cleaning the counter. I went to her. "Mira, where is Master?"_

"_Why do you want to know where Master is, Lucy? Is everything alright?" Mira asked a little startled. _

_I didn't want to worry her. "Yeah, everything is fine. I just want to talk to him about taking a long mission is all," I lied to her._

_Mira looked a little skeptic, but she didn't push the subject. She smiled and said, "Master is in his office."_

"_Thanks, Mira," I said and then climbed the stairs to the second floor and went to Master's office._

_*Knocks on a door* "Master? Are you in there?"… __**End of Flashback**_

I entered my house and locked the door safely behind me. I turned on the lights and checked every corner of my home to make that I was alone. Then I remembered that that Raven guy said that they were shadow mages, which meant that they could take the form of any shadow. Taking no chances, I went to my closet, grabbed my suitcase and started packing my bags.

When I was finished, I summoned cancer. "Open the Gate of the Crab! Cancer!"

"What kind of hairstyle would you like today? –ebi"

I smiled at Cancer, trying not to look like what I was about to tell him was actually going to hurt me, which it was. "Cut my hair to my shoulders and then die it brown. We'll be going away for awhile and I need to look different."

"No problem. –ebi" Cancer replied and then he got to work. After cutting and styling my hair, Cancer returned to the Spirit World, and I looked at myself in the mirror.

I looked different, and in a few months, no one would truly recognize me because I would start showing my pregnant belly by then. My hands went to my stomach automatically. It still hasn't fully registered that I was pregnant. But that just motivated me more to do what was best for me and my unborn child. "Open the Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"

"Punishment, Princess?" Virgo asked.

"No, Virgo. I need your help. I know I disguised myself so I don't look like I did before, but I still want to take precautions. I need for you to dig a tunnel from here to the train station. We need to leave Magnolia," I explained.

"Understood." Then Virgo went to work on the tunnel. As she left, I wrote a quick letter to Team Natsu, hoping that if they realized that I was gone, that they would come to my house and find it. I left the letter on my desk.

Then I put money in an envelope and addressed it to my landlord. I would have Loke deliver it to her later. Just when I finished up, Virgo came back from the tunnel. "Are you ready to go, Princess?"

I took one last look around my house, not knowing when I'd be back and then said, "Yes. I have to be."

Virgo picked me and my suitcase up and carried me through the tunnel. We got to the train station quickly from underground. When we got on the platform, I let Virgo return to the Spirit World.

I bought my ticket to board the train, although I had no idea of where I was going. The train wasn't arriving soon, so to keep me company and to protect me in case anything happened, I called Loke, but before I could even utter a word, he appeared before me.

"Princess." He looked at me with a serious expression and sat next to me on the bench while I waited for the train. "Is this what you really want to do, Lucy?"

"What choice do I have, Loke. I can't tell anyone in the guild what's going on otherwise they'll be killed. I don't know who these guys are except that they seem to read who people are from touching them, and they can turn into shadows. They could be watching me right now for all I knew. This is the best way to protect the guild, and my child." As I said that last part, my hand went to my stomach.

Loke followed my hand with his stare and then he took my hand in his. "No matter what Lucy, I will always be here to protect you, especially since they can't kill me."

Loke was right. Since he was a spirit, the dark guild can't kill him, and him along with my other spirits were the only ones who could help me for the next 10 months. "Thank you, Loke. And to protect me, you can start by calling me Lola Crescent."

"Lola Crescent?" Loke asked.

"Yes. That will be my new name from now on. Since I don't know where this guild will be hiding out, we have to take all precautions. Changing my name is a major precaution."

"Alright, Princess Lola. I hear the train coming. I'm not leaving your side until we get to a safe place, and then I'll still be right by you." He squeezed my hand to reassure me and I felt relieved to know that I wouldn't have to be alone.

The train arrived and Loke and I boarded. As we sat down next to the window facing the town, I noticed a man with pink hair mixed up in the crowd. I looked harder and there he was. Natsu. As the crowd started to disperse, I noticed that all of Team Natsu was on the platform. They must have finished their mission, and they looked happy too. My heart ached looking at their happy faces, knowing that I wasn't apart of them. I wanted to jump off the train, run up to them and hug them, but I knew I couldn't. I couldn't endanger their lives and I already decided to leave them. As the train started to move, tears streaked down my eyes. How I will truly miss them. _Especially you, Natsu. _


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **I am so happy that people are reading my fanfic. To be honest, since this is my first fanfic, I thought that it was okay. But people actually like it :D!

Anyway, I just want to clear up a few things from the first chapter. To **SecretMindOtaku7 **and **KP**, Lucy's disguise is not only to hide herself from the shadow mages, but also from Fairy Tail, just in case she happens to run into her nakama in an unexpected way (*hint). And lastly, to **Raijutei, **don't worry Lisanna is not evil.

**Disclaimer: **Not the owner of Fairy Tail

Please enjoy everyone. R&R!

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**Natsu's POV:**

We walked from the platform of the Magnolia train station back to the guild. My team was laughing and seemed happy that we finished our mission, but my mind was somewhere else.

As me and my team kept walking, my thoughts kept going back to early this morning…

**Flashback, Natsu's POV:**

_The sun came up and woke me out of my sleep. It was really early, but I always liked getting up early so that me and Happy could train before going to the guild. _

_As I rustled around in the bed, I noticed that the bed that I was lying on was way too soft and comfortable to be mine, so that meant that I was at Lucy's house. I didn't even remember how I got here. I must have been really drunk from the party last night. _

_Lucy stirred next to me as I sat up on her bed. I didn't want to wake her cause she's not really friendly when woken up before her alarm. After she settled down with her blanket pulled up to her chin, I just looked at her. Her face was so peaceful when she slept. I never let her know, but when I would spend the night at her house, the best part of waking up is watching her sleep. It was better than watching her get mad at me or complain about money. This was a side of Lucy that I only got to see and that always put a smile on my face._

_I got off the bed quietly, but noticed that I dragged the blanket off with me. I didn't bother paying attention to it though as I headed for the bathroom. When I came out of the bathroom and headed back into Lucy's bedroom to leave through the window, I saw her._

_She was naked._

_I froze. The blanket (which now covered the floor) was covering a naked Lucy! How in the hell did that happen? Was she so drunk last night that she didn't bother putting on clothes before going to bed? _

_I shook my head and tried to think. _What the hell should I do? _I thought to myself. I looked around her room to see if I could get some clothes out for her, and that is when I saw her nightgown on the floor under the blanket. I went and picked it up. What was it doing on the floor? Then I sniffed it. It smelled of Lucy's favorite vanilla body wash, which only meant that she was wearing it at some part of the night. _Then why was it off of her? What the hell happened last night?

_I had to snap out of it and cover up Lucy__, but I didn't want to just put a blanket over her because then she would think that I did something to her. So the only thing I could do was put her back into her nightgown…without waking her._

_That was a challenge. Thank Mavis that Lucy was a heavy sleeper, and her being drunk helped even more. I lifted her gently in a sitting position and tried not to touch anywhere she would be mad at me for touching, but that failed miserably. As I tried to get her arms through the armholes and pull the gown over her head, my hands kept grazing her breast, and when I pulled the gown down to cover her body, my fingers trailed from her breast to her navel. Then I gently placed her back down on the bed to make it easier to fully pull her gown down. When I went back to the hem of her gown, I couldn't help but stare at the place where her panties should have been, but for some reason, she was missing those too. Without thinking, I inhaled the air, getting a mixed scent of vanilla, sweat and ash. _What did that mean?_ But the scent that sent my blood boiling and my shaft hardening was the scent coming from between Lucy's legs. My possessive side demanded it. It was a delicious scent that got my mouth watering and made me want to taste it. _To taste Lucy.

_Cursing under my breath, I realized that seeing Lucy naked and then smelling her aroma was dangerous for me and for my manhood. With the quickest speed, I finished dressing Lucy. I grabbed the blanket from the floor and covered her up with it. I looked at her peaceful face before I dashed through her window, leaving her sleeping in her bed without a care in the world._

_I ran to my house__ and was glad that Happy was on a mission with Wendy and Carle, because I was too distracted from what was going on to deal with anyone at the moment. As I paced the floor, my body ached to be back with Lucy. For some reason, the possessiveness inside of me demanded me to go back and claim her. _What the fuck was going on with me?_ Then I started to think about all the other unanswered questions going through my head. Why was Lucy naked in her bed? Why did she smell the way she did? Why did I want her so bad? What in the hell happened last night?_

_My thoughts were cut off by a knock on my door. I went to answer it and found Lisanna standing there with a smile on her face. "Morning, Natsu."_

"_Morning. What are you doing here so early?" I asked._

"_Well, I figured you'd be up early training, so I decided to swing by before you went to the guild. I wanted to talk to you without everyone being around." She smiled at me and caught my attention._

"_Sure. What did you want to talk to me about?" I asked a bit confused._

_Before she said anything else, she walked into my house and sat on my sofa. She looked around and said, "I can't believe this is my first time back inside here since I came home. Wow, Natsu. You really need a maid."_

_I laughed while scratching behind my head. "It's just me and Happy so there's no need to clean."_

"_That's the problem. It's just you and Happy and the place looks like a pigsty. How could the two of you get it this bad?" _

"_I don't know," I said still laughing at how messy my house was. Then I relaxed and said, "It's me and Happy's treasure. Besides, we hardly spend time here. We're either at the guild, or on missions…" _Or at Lucy's, _I thought to myself. Just thinking about Lucy brought my mind back to her house this morning. I almost missed what Lisanna said next._

"_Well seeing your house like this seals the deal for me."_

"_What are you talking about, Lisanna?" _

"_Don't you remember when you came to my house last night, Natsu?" Lisanna looked at me with a confused stare._

_When did I go to Lisanna's house? "I went to your house last night?" I said dumbfounded._

"_Yes, Natsu," Lisanna said with a giggle. "You came banging on the door, waking Mira-nee and me up. She was too tired to deal with you, so she went back to bed and I carried you to our couch. You looked as if you were still pretty drunk."_

_She paused to look at me and all I could do was stare at her in shock. I didn't remember going to her house. And I must have been drunk because I knew better than to go to Mira's house in the middle of the night. I learned my lesson from all those years ago when me and Lisanna were kids._

_Come to think of it, the only thing I remember from last night was the beginning of the party. Everything after that was blank. "What happened at your house?"_

"_Well," she started a little nervously. "When I got you on the couch, I was gonna go and get you a glass of water, when you grabbed my arm and pulled me to you. You stared at me with a serious face and said 'Lisanna, you need to leave. You need to move on.' I didn't know what you were talking about, but I've never seen you that serious before, so I know you meant what you said."_

_That made me more confused. Why would I tell Lisanna that? What did I mean?_

"_But," she said catching my attention back, "before I could ask you what you meant, you passed out on the couch. I had to get Elf-nii-chan to take you home. After he left with you, I sat and thought about what you could have meant. Then I came up with an answer."_

_She paused and just looked at me. I was confused and curious as to what she came up with. "And that would be?" I asked to make her continue._

"_You wanted…no you _want _me to leave Mira-nee and Elf-nii-chan and move in with you and Happy."_

_My eyes widened from shock. How did she get that answer? Did I mean that? I didn't know and it was just putting more unanswered questions in my head. "Lisanna, I…"_

"_I should have seen it. All the time we spent together after my return and you putting me into your team. I should have seen you wanting me to be with you all the time, and moving in together would be the obvious next step. This makes me happy, Natsu. I still remember us as kids raising Happy's egg in our little house we made. Even though we were kids, it made me feel like me, you and Happy were a real family. Spending those days with you there were some of the best times of my life, and I've always wanted more of that. So, I've decided that I will move in with you."_

_Everything was happening so fast that I didn't have time to register what was going on. Lisanna was moving in? With me and Happy? _

"_I came to your house earlier to tell you, but when I knocked on the door, no one answered, so I figured that the good news could wait until you woke up."_

_I probably went to Luce's house after Elfman took me home, which explained why I was there._

"_I can't wait. This will be so much fun, Natsu."_

_Shock must have been all over my face because she lowered her head and said, "But if you don't want to…" and the sadness in her voice didn't help my state of mind._

"_No, of course you can move in with Happy and me. It's just so sudden. But I'd be really happy if you did, and Happy would be too!" I smiled at her to reassure her, and she smiled back at me._

"_Thanks, Natsu. I'm so happy." _

_She smiled at me and I couldn't help but smile back, but something inside of me told me that this was wrong, but I couldn't understand why, so I ignored it._

"_Well, I guess I can move in after our first mission," she said._

_Oh, that was right. Today would be our first mission together. But again, something didn't feel right. That's when I figured out what it was. _Lucy wouldn't be there. _After Lisanna came back, Lucy spent a lot of time by herself and we spent so much time with Lisanna, and because of that, the rest of the group felt that maybe Lisanna should join us since Lucy was doing her own thing. I knew that she only went on solo missions so that the rest of us could catch up with Lisanna, but I missed hanging with her. Even so, I spent more time with Lisanna, and when we officially made her part of the team, she was so happy, which made me happy. All those years without having her here was painful, and now I got the chance to spend so much time with her. It was unbelievable. Yet…_

Lucy…

"_We should probably head to the guild and pick out a mission. No doubt Erza would be there early, and I don't think I want to do an S-class mission for my first mission back," Lisanna said, pulling me out of my thoughts. _

"_Yeah. Let's go!" _

_We got to the guild and were greeted by everyone. Lisanna went over to the mission board, while I scanned the guild looking for Lucy, but she wasn't here yet, which wasn't a surprise since it was still early. Maybe I was just hoping that she would be here, but then again, thinking about how she looked this morning brought heat to my face and my groin. Maybe it was better that she wasn't here. And putting distance between us would help me figure out how things got that way in the first place._

_I joined Lisanna at the mission board, who was also joined by Gray and Erza, __and I waited for them to pick a mission__. "Maybe we should do this one," Erza said while pointing to a request to defeat a group of bandits terrorizing a neighboring town._

"_How about this one?" Gray said pointing to a request to pick special mushrooms growing in the forest of Beech, which was a town eight hours away by train. _

_Just thinking about the long train ride got me nauseous. "No way, Icicle. That one is lame, and there is no way I'm riding on the train that long."_

"_Listen, Flame Brain, this mission isn't about you. It's for Lisanna, and maybe an easy mission would suit her."_

"_What did you call me, Exhibitionist?" I asked glaring at Gray with the intent to whip his ass._

"_You heard me, Dragon Breath." Gray said with the same intent._

_Erza cleared her throat, and suddenly, me and Gray sweat dropped. An instant later, we were the best of friends. "In any case, going on an easy mission isn't going to help Lisanna, Gray. She needs to hone her skills," Erza said._

_Before anyone of us could protest, Erza took the request and handed it to Mira. "This is the mission we will do."_

"_Great. Good luck everyone!" Mira said with a smile._

"_We will meet at the train station in one hour," Erza said before her and Gray left me and Lisanna._

"_I guess I should go home and get ready," Lisanna said._

"_Yeah, me too,"_

"_I'll see you at the station," she said before taking off. _

_I stood there for a moment before heading out myself. I went home and grabbed a few supplies, and then headed to the train station. As I walked there, I noticed that I took that route that would make me pass Lucy's house. It was still early, __and she probably wasn't up yet,__ so I walked to her house. When I got there, I just stood outside and thought of her. _Lucy.

Maybe after this mission, I'd see if she wants to join the team again, _I thought to myself. I felt bad now, knowing that she wouldn't be with us. I hadn't thought through replacing her with Lisanna and it made me feel guilty. But I couldn't break Lisanna's heart by kicking her out. _But did I break Lucy's? _That thought haunted me. If kicking Lisanna out of the team would break her heart, then that meant it broke Lucy's heart. _What have I done? _I had to make this right. Definitely after this mission, I'd get Lucy back on our team. _

_I climbed up her window to see if she was still sleeping, and she was. _This lazy girl, _I thought. Just looking at her stirred up the images of her naked and a growl escaped my lips. Before I did something I would have regretted, I leapt from her window and ran to the train station. _

_When my team met up at the train station, the train came and we boarded. Before I became nauseated, I couldn't stop thinking about her._

Don't worry, Luce. I'll fix everything… _**End of Flashback**_

We busted through the doors of Fairy Tail, and were greeted by everyone who was there. Mira came over to us. "Welcome back everyone. How was the mission?"

"Successful. We managed to finish earlier than expected," Erza replied.

"That's great. And how did it go for you, Lisanna?"

"It was great, Mira-nee. I felt right at home with the team."

"Wonderful! Let me serve you guys some drinks to congratulate you on your first mission," Mira said, and then went to the bar. Erza followed, sitting at the bar, while Mira placed a slice of strawberry cheesecake in front of her. Gray went to a table with Juvia, Levy and Gajeel, and Lisanna went over to where Elfman was.

I looked around the guild to find Lucy, but she wasn't here. _Maybe she went on a mission, _I thought sadly. I walked up to the bar and sat in her favorite stool. "Do you want me to get you some food, Natsu?" Mira asked.

"Yeah. I'm starving."

"Sure thing, be right there," she smiled and walked away. About ten minutes later, she came back with a huge plate of fire chicken.

After eating it all plus a few more plates, I sat at the bar stuffed, thinking about Lucy. "Hey, Mira? Did Lucy go on a mission?" I asked the barmaid.

"I'm not sure. Before she left, she spoke to Master, so maybe he knows where she went," Mira said.

"Is he in his office?"

"He should be," she said before turning back cleaning her beer mugs.

"Thanks." I got away from the bar and headed upstairs to the master's office.

*Knock Knock* "Come in," the master said. I entered his office and he stopped reading the papers from his desk. "Oh, Natsu. What brings you here?"

"I was looking for Lucy and Mira said that you would know where she is."

The master's face became saddened. "Lucy took a mission that will take her awhile to complete."

My eyes widened. "Master, what do you mean awhile to complete?"

"I mean it could take months, even years to complete. I do not have all of the details, but just know that she will be gone from us for awhile." Master then went back to his papers, ignoring me with his sad face.

I knew there was more than what he was telling me, but he wasn't gonna continue talking to me, so I decided to head to Lucy's house. I ran so fast down the stairs that I caught the attention of a few people. "Natsu, what's wrong?" Lisanna asked, but I didn't have time to talk to her. I needed to get to Lucy's.

I got to her house and climbed through her window. The house was dark and empty. Lucy wasn't here. I looked around her place hoping that she left something behind that would let me know where she went, and then I found a letter on her desk. It was addressed to Team Natsu.

_Team Natsu,_

_ If you found this letter, it means that you've noticed that I was gone. I hope it didn't take you guys too long to notice cause that would make me sad. Anyway, I'm sorry that I can't give more details than what I am about to tell you. I had to leave on a mission of sorts. I don't know when I will be back, if I ever do come back, but I just want to let you guys know that I will truly miss you. Erza, you are like the sister I have always wanted. Stay strong for the team. Gray, although it was an annoying habit, I'm gonna miss you stripping down without realizing. You gave me some of the funniest times in the guild and I am forever grateful. Happy, I'm gonna miss you a lot and please don't cry about me being gone. Natsu, there's so much I want to say to you that wouldn't fit on paper, but just know that I will never regret taking your hand in Hargeon and following you home to Fairy Tail. You gave me the best adventures life can throw at you, and I will forever hold those memories to heart. I hope the new team has just as much fun as we used to. Please, everyone, don't come looking for me. This is something that I have to do alone. Take Care._

_Lucy_

I couldn't believe what I read. I came hoping to find a clue to where she went, but in turn I found a farewell letter. Something dangerously possessive and protective erupted inside of me, and without a second to waste, I ran back to the guild.

When I burst through the doors, I ran to Master's office, ignoring the stares of everyone, and rushed inside. "Natsu, what is the meaning of this?" Master asked.

"Read this, Gramps. This doesn't sound like she went on a mission. It sounds like she's in trouble and may never come back," I yelled while handing Master the letter.

He read through it and his face got serious. "I figured it was something like that."

Erza, Gray and Mira came into Master's office then. "Master, is everything okay?" Mira asked.

"Natsu, why are you making such a scene bursting into Master's office in such a manner?" Erza demanded.

"What's going on you two?" Gray asked.

"Lucy's gone," I said through clenched teeth.

The three of their faces were stunned and they were silent for a while as they processed what had just been said to them.

After a moment, Erza broke the silence. "What do you mean she's gone?"

I took the letter from Master, and gave it to Erza. "Read it. She's saying goodbye."

Mira started crying, without even reading the letter, and ran from the office. Erza and Gray read the letter together. They finished ready and I saw their faces turn from sad to guilty to really serious and determined. I looked at Master. "We have to go after Luce."

"No," Master replied.

"What?" I was pissed. "Why not? Something's not right Gramps and I need to find her, and bring her back where her nakama can help her."

"Lucy doesn't want any of you to go after her, and she has her reasons. We should respect that and leave things be."

"No way old man. This is one of those times that I'm actually gonna agree with Natsu. If Lucy is in danger and is hiding the truth to protect us or something, I'm not gonna sit around and watch things spiral out of control. We need to find Lucy," Gray said.

"Master, I have never requested much from you in the past, but this is one thing that I cannot sit back and allow. Granted, I wish we would have paid attention more to her because maybe then she wouldn't have run off on her own thinking she could handle whatever it is she's facing. If she were still on Team Natsu, we would battle together no matter the situation. Please…" and then Erza's face got dead serious, "let us go after Lucy."

The master looked at us for a brief moment, and then sighed. "Go and find my child and bring her back home."

With those words, I got so pumped up that I was ready to leave now. "All right! Let's go!" and then I headed out of Master's office.

"Natsu, what's going on? I saw Mira-nee come down the stairs and go to the kitchen. It looked like she was crying," Lisanna said.

I looked around the guild to make sure not everyone knew that something big was up.

"Lucy is gone," I told Lisanna.

Her eyes widened. "What do you mean gone?"

"She left without a word, except for a letter. Something isn't right and she might be in danger. Me, Erza, and Gray are going to go after her. We need to find her." _I need to find her. Luce, why did you leave?_

"I'm coming with you," Lisanna said. Her face was serious and she looked determined.

"Why?" I was curious.

"Well, although we haven't spent too much time together, she's still my nakama, and if she's in danger, I want to be there to help her."

Lisanna's words moved me. This was what true nakama was all about. "Okay then, let's go." I took her hand and led her over to Gray and Erza.

"First, we think of a plan. We have no idea where Lucy is, and we can't waste time going on a goose chase," Erza said. We all agreed with a nod of our heads and then she continued. "I think the best course of action would be to split into two separate teams. That way the search for Lucy would double. Gray and I will go one way, and Natsu and Lisanna will go another. If we haven't found her in a week, we regroup at the guild and come up with a better strategy. Any questions?"

The only thing I wanted to do was bust out of the guild and search for Lucy right now. With my powerful senses, it wouldn't take me long to find her.

When none of us objected to Erza's plan, we split up into our teams. Erza handed ma one part of a map of neighboring towns to the east and south of Magnolia, and they took the map with the neighboring towns west and north. With nothing else left to say, we departed. As me and Lisanna headed towards the first town on our map, I couldn't quiet the dark possessive and protective feelings inside of me. Thinking of Lucy made it worse.

_Lucy, I will find you!_

* * *

Okay, some people probably have a lot of questions about some of the things that happened here, like what the did Natsu mean when he went to Lisanna's in the middle of the night? or What happened to Lucy? All I will say is that everything (which means all of your concerns) will be answered in later chapters.

I hope you all liked it. Again, R&R!


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **Hey everyone! Just to let you guys know, the week of Christmas I will be nice and try to upload more than one chapter, but no promises. That will be my Christmas gift to my wonderful fans!

To **Nalu bitches**: There will be a time skip, but not right now. There are still a lot of things that the characters have to go through and new characters that I have to introduce before I do my time skip. You will understand while you read my chapters.

To **ichiinoses: **I agree with you. I didn't want Lisanna to be a bitch in my fanfic, but I didn't want her to seem overly compassionate and forget that she's human. She's in love with Natsu, but Natsu might be in love with Lucy, so naturally there will be a bit of jealousy, but she's not this mean girl who wants to snatch Natsu away by any means necessary. She loves Natsu enough to see him happy, even if it means that he'll be happy with someone else. Also, you have to read more of the story to find out what Natsu _really_ meant when he said those words to Lisanna that night ;)!

Just a small goal of mine; I want to have 50 reviews and favorites before Christmas, so tell your friends about this fanfic and I hope that my wonderful fans like this chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail

* * *

**Normal POV:**

The train pulled up at the station of Cinder Village. It was a thriving town about half the size of Magnolia, but it was a perfect place to lay low without being seen.

Lucy, who was in the arms of Loke, woke up from her nap as she realized that the ten hours of traveling has finally stopped. Loke, on the other hand, was still snoring softly while resting his head on the window.

Lucy moved herself from his embrace and stretched her arms while yawning simultaneously. _Finally made it, _she thought to herself as she shook Loke out of his slumber. He opened his eyes and went on alert, shielding Lucy with his body.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Loke, calm down. I was waking you because we're here."

"Oh," he said while relaxing a bit. "I thought that you were in danger. Must have been this weird dream that I was having."

"Weird dream? What weird dream?" Lucy asked.

"One where I couldn't protect you in time, but don't worry," he said while fixing his shades. He smiled down at Lucy and said, "No matter what happens, I will always be here to protect you, Luc―"

"Ah ah ah! Lola, remember?" Lucy corrected.

Loke deepened his smile. "Right, Princess Lola. Anyway, we should get off and find somewhere we can rest. You look exhausted."

She felt exhausted. The ten hour train ride didn't stop her worrying. For a while she stared out of the window and just thought about her friends, the dark guild, and her unborn child. And no matter what she tried, she couldn't relax until the end of the trip, and even so, she had a bad dream. All she wanted to do was lie down in a comfortable bed and sleep her worries away, even if it was just for one night.

Loke helped her out of her seat and retrieved her bags for her. They left the train and headed for the town's Central, which is where all the restaurants and hotels were.

For the most part, the walk between the two was quite. Lucy took in her surroundings as she observed the very festive town. People lined the streets as vendors were stationed everywhere. She would have loved to look around, but they needed to secure a place for them to stay first.

Loke kept close to Lucy, not allowing even the slightest space between them. If anything were to happen, he made sure to position himself where he could better protect her. As he looked down at her, his heart broke a little. Here was his beautiful master going through all of this pain and putting a brave face on. He knew that she had to be scared with the dark guild coming after her _**and **_a baby on the way. Anyone would, and yet, Lucy looked as if the world didn't faze her. She looked calmer than she needed to be, and that kind of pissed him off. _Damn you Natsu!_ he thought to himself. If he ever saw that bastard again…!

They stumbled into a large crowd on the street and it was hard to maneuver out of the people's way. Lucy was so lost in the liveliness of the town that she didn't really pay much attention to where she was walking, until she bumped shoulders with a stranger. She looked up to apologize to whomever it was she bumped into, but when she turned around, no one was there. She stopped walking and stared at the crowd behind her. She didn't know what she was looking for, or who she was looking for, but all of a sudden she got this feeling of urgency.

She hadn't noticed that she was staring for a while, until Loke put his arm on her shoulder. She looked up at him and saw the concern on his face. "What's the matter, Princess?"

She looked into his eyes, which heightened his concern, and then she looked back into the crowd behind her. When she turned back to Loke, she grabbed his arm and pulled him along to the town's Central. "We need to get out of the street," she said seriously.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know, but I feel like we need to get out of the street and find a safe place." She quickened her steps and Loke didn't further question her. He knew that they were already in a bad situation and needed a safe place to stay, so he didn't bother asking why she changed her pace. She would tell him when they were secure.

Lucy couldn't quite understand this feeling that she was having, but it was like a voice in her head telling her that there was danger around. She knew that she couldn't escape the clutches of Shadows of Darkness, but she at least thought that she would be undetected for a while. Guess she was wrong.

(********)

They made it to the town's Central and Loke spotted a hotel called Sunset Moon. It was a decent looking building and it looked pretty safe. They went inside and confronted the little old woman who was sitting behind the reception desk in the lobby. "Hello, Ma'am. We would like a room," Loke said kindly.

The woman, who was reading a magazine, picked her head up and looked at the couple. They were breathing heavy, as if they were in a hurry, and they looked really desperate. Her face was stern and the look she was giving them was disapproving. She turned her face from Loke to Lucy, and when she turned back to Loke, she rudely said, "We only give single rooms and rooms to married couples. This isn't a love shack. We don't give rooms by the hour and we don't allow people like you to stay here." She turned her face away from them with a sharp "Hmph."

Loke and Lucy's faces fell to the floor. They both were extremely shocked. _What is she implying? _Loke thought.

_Do I look like that type of girl? Oh no…I look like a whore! I knew these boobs of mine would get me in trouble some day, but I thought that day passed when I slept with Natsu, _Lucy thought.

Loke fixed himself and then shook his head. "I think you are mistaken. We aren't here for whatever it is that you are imagining," _although your imagination is pretty sweet old lady. If only it were true, _Loke thought slyly.

The old lady looked back at the couple and looked them up and down. The man (Loke) was wearing a nice suit. Although there were spots that were a little wrinkled, he looked like someone of importance. Then there was the woman (Lucy), dressed in a tight pink and yellow shirt that really enhanced her huge melons. She wore a yellow short skirt held up by a brown belt that had a whip tied to it, and brown combat boots. The lady dry laughed. There was no mistaking it. "Yea right. Young people today don't think that us old farts know what's happening. In my day, a dominatrix would be dressed in all black leather, but I guess style has changed. Even if, the game stays the same. Trust me, I know S&M when I see it."

Lucy and Loke fell over. _Who the hell is this crazy ass lady?! _they both thought.

When they picked themselves off the floor, Lucy was steaming. _A dominatrix? That old heifer!_

Loke saw the steam rolling off of Lucy's body, so he tried to diffuse the situation. He smiled at the old lady and said, "Ma'am, this is nothing like that. We just need a room for a couple of nights, that's all."

"A couple of nights, huh? Son, you sure like being an M, don't you? And with that scary looking floozy too, you must really like pain."

_That's it! _Lucy jumped to attack the old lady, but was stopped by Loke who grabbed a hold of her waist and was pulling her back. "Let me go! I wanna kill her. Floozy, you say? I'll show you a floozy!"

"Please, calm down Lu―AHH!" Before Loke could finish his sentence, Lucy stomped on his foot. As he stumbled backwards, she put her hand to his mouth and glared at him. The look in her eyes was that of pure evil. "Utter that name again, and I will show you who's an S in this room."

Loke gulped and sweat dropped. He didn't realize that he was about to say Lucy's real name, but he knew from now on that he wouldn't dare say it again.

"I knew it. You can't fool this old bat," the old woman said. She folded her arms in front of her chest and gave a victorious, yet sour look at the couple.

Lucy moved her hand from Loke and turned a death glare at the old woman. "Now you listen here you old wench!" Lucy started, but suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. Her hands automatically clutched at her midsection and she went down on her knees as the pain assaulted her.

"Princess!" Loke snapped out of his frightened trance and quickly went to Lucy's side. She was breathing heavy and her face looked pained. "What's wrong?"

Lucy took a few deep breaths and after a minute, the pain subsided. When it was gone, she lifted her face and gave a brave smile to Loke. "Nothing I can't handle."

Loke looked at the brave face that Lucy was putting on and it tore at his heartstrings. He was concerned for her safety and needed to get them a room where she could rest. He helped Lucy off the floor and then dusted her knees off. He then straightened himself and turned to the old woman. She was still looking at the pair with untrusting eyes. Loke smiled at her and said, "Ma'am, it's been a tiring day and we need a place to rest."

"Like I said, we only give single rooms and―"

"Rooms to married couples," Loke interrupted. "Well that's perfect because my wife really needs to rest. All of this excitement has rattled her nerves and it's not good for the baby."

The woman's face turned from malice to shock. So did Lucy's. She couldn't believe what Loke just said. The woman looked from Lucy to Loke and then back to Lucy. "You're telling me that you two are married?" she asked.

"And expecting," Loke added while taking Lucy's hand (she was too shocked to object) and then placing his other hand on Lucy's stomach. He looked at Lucy and when he saw her facial expression, he gave her a sly wink. Then he turned back to the old woman.

To his shock, the old woman was beaming. It was as if she was a completely different person. She looked joyous and happy compared to her other look of hatred and disgust.

The old woman moved from behind the desk and approached the couple. She took their hands and said cheerfully, "You're married and pregnant. That is so wonderful. And you two are so young. I hope that you stay together forever. My blessings to you both."

Shocked faces looked back at her. _Is she serious? _Lucy thought.

_What is this, Jekyll and Hyde? _Loke thought.

The old woman let go of their hands and headed back to the desk where she pulled out a draw and picked up a key. "Before I give you your key, there are a few things we need to clear up. First, let me introduce myself. I'm Madame Petrovski and I own and run this hotel. Ever since I opened it up in this town, I got a lot of patrons who thought this was a 'toot it and boot it' type of place, which is why I had my suspicions about you two."

_You don't say, _Loke and Lucy both thought with annoyance.

"Especially you, my dear. You're a wife and a mother, not a cosplay hoochie. Learn to dress the part so people wouldn't mistake you on the street."

Lucy's eyebrow twitched and Loke rubbed circles on the back of her hand with his thumb to try and sooth her.

"But now that I know that you're a married couple with a bun in the oven, I feel relieved. I've always wanted to be a grandmother, so when I see young couples like you with babies, I get so happy. Your baby will look so adorable with either a head full of brown or orange hair."

Lucy took her free hand and touched her shoulder length dyed brown hair. _Actually, my baby will have a head of full blonde or pink hair, _she thought gloomily.

"And you two look like a perfect match," Madame Petrovski went on saying.

Loke looked at Lucy, who was staring sadly at the woman, and squeezed her hand for reassurance. He knew that the woman's words unintentionally hit a nerve, and he knew where Lucy's brain was taking her. Right to Natsu.

"Anyway, I'm getting carried away. It's an old lady's habit. Now we need to take care of paperwork. I need both of your names."

"This is my wife, Lola," Loke said.

The old lady looked up from writing the name and smiled hugely at Loke. "Introducing your wife before yourself. You must really love her. I haven't met a man who introduced his woman before himself. I guess the young generation is changing more things than style and fashion. That is so sweet young man. And what is your name?"

Loke smiled softly. "It's Leo," he answered.

Lucy looked at him and was confused. _Why his celestial name? Wouldn't he be easier to notice that way? _she thought.

He squeezed her hand again to assure her that he knew what he was doing.

The old woman gazed at him and then smirked. "Leo, like the lion. Strong, fierce and confident. That's a good name. You should cherish it."

Loke nodded with a huge grin on his face and then said, "Is that all we need? I really want to let my wife rest."

"We're just about done. I just need a last name."

"Crescent. Our last name is Crescent," Lucy finally spoke.

"Excellent. That wraps up the paper work. Now, it's 5,000J a night, and I serve breakfast every morning and dinner every night, which is included. Being that you're pregnant, I might throw in a few snacks here and there for no extra charge. Since I run this place alone, I expect you to clean up after yourselves because I won't be running after you. Are we good with everything?"

Loke and Lucy both nodded their heads.

"Great. Here is your key. Your room is 101. Enjoy your stay and welcome to Sunset Moon.

Loke took the key and both him and Lucy thanked the old lady. Loke carried Lucy's suitcase, while still holding her hand, and led her to their room.

He opened up the door and revealed a spacious room with a nice queen sized bed, a small sofa, and a decent size bathroom. Lucy walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge. Loke put her suitcase on the floor at the end of the bed, and then joined Lucy on the bed.

They sat in silence for a moment, but then Loke put his hand on Lucy's, which brought her attention to him. She looked at him and saw concern on his face. Before she could ask him what was wrong, he spoke.

"There are some things you need to straighten out for me. One, why the sudden hurry to get off the street?"

Lucy stared into his eyes, unsure of how to answer his question for she didn't have the answer herself. She struggled to find the words to give him a satisfied reply. "It happened after I bumped into someone―"

"You bumped into someone? When and how come I didn't notice?" he asked worriedly.

"It was when we were in that heavy crowd. Someone bumped into my shoulder, but when I looked back, I couldn't find them. Maybe they got lost in the crowd, but after that, I got this feeling like I needed to get somewhere safe. It was like who ever bumped into me was warning me." Looking at Loke's serious expression, she got the feeling like she wasn't explaining it right. "I didn't sense anything bad from the person who bumped into me."

"You didn't sense anything bad when you bumped into those men from the dark guild either."

He had a point. She didn't know who she bumped into this time, but she had a gut feeling that it wasn't anyone from the dark guild or anyone particularly bad. It was like that person was helping her by relaying information into her shoulder bump. Now that she thought about it, she was going crazy. _Relaying information into a shoulder bump? Get real, Lucy!_

"We need to be more careful. That means no matter where we go, you stick to me like glue. I didn't even see anyone touch you, let alone bump you and that disturbs me. It could have been one of those assholes tracking you, which means we can't stay here for long." Loke was very worried. If it was indeed a member from Shadows of Darkness that touched Lucy, they would know where she was and they would have to be on the run again very soon. He didn't want to put Lucy through too much, especially in her delicate situation, but he would do anything to protect her. And thinking of delicate situation, "What happened in the lobby? You were in pain."

Lucy looked away. She didn't want to make Loke worry even more than he already was, and there was no doubt that he would stress over her having pains in her stomach. "It was nothing," she lied.

He sighed and then got off the bed. He knelt in front of Lucy and cupped her chin with his hand, pulling her face to be square with his. When she looked at him, he said, "You don't have to be brave, Princess. Share some of it with me. I can handle it."

Lucy gazed at Loke, and then exhaled. She knew she owed this to him, to trust him completely. Even if it would concern him more, he was the only one by her side through it all. "I had a sharp pain in my stomach."

Loke's eyes widened. He didn't know exactly what that meant. He didn't really know about pregnancy, but he could have guessed that having pains or feeling anything of the sort was weird after only being pregnant for a **day.** He stared at Lucy, trying to figure out what that meant.

"I have no idea why I'm having pains so early in my pregnancy, but I'm scared Leo."

Loke forgot that he was trying to decipher what Lucy's pain meant for a minute, and gazed at Lucy. "Leo?"

"That is your name," she said with a smile. "We need to get into the habit of using our code names, or else I'm gonna have to beat you up every time you're about to say my real name, and that'll be a pain."

Loke gulped at Lucy's threat, and then grinned. "I guess we do, Lola." She grinned back at him and he took her hands in his. "Don't worry, Lola. I'm here with you, so we'll figure this out together."

"I just wish I knew what it meant," she said.

"Well, you are having Natsu's baby, so with his genes, anything can happen."

He had another point. She wasn't carrying a normal baby inside of her. Her child was half celestial mage and half dragon slayer. Anything was game and she needed to be prepared for that.

Loke let her hands go and stood up. He motioned to the pillows on the bed and said, "You should get some rest. We had a long journey and I know you must be tired."

She was tired and the bed was really comfortable. Without saying a word, she took off her boots and scooted up to the center of the bed. She rested her head against the pillows and Loke put the blanket over her. After tucking her in, he prepared to walk away, but she caught his hand. He looked back at her. "Aren't you tired? Don't you want to rest?" she asked.

He smiled at her and said, "My job is to make sure that you are safe first and foremost. And if I get overbearingly tired, I'll rest on the sofa.

Lucy looked at the size of the sofa and shook her head. "That sofa is too small and looks uncomfortable. You can sleep in the bed with me, there's plenty of room so it's no problem."

"That's okay Lo―"

"I won't take no for an answer, Leo. You're not gonna bother me. I'm a pretty sound sleeper so I won't even notice. Beside, I've slept in the same bed with Natsu, and since I survived that, sharing a bed with you would be nothing. And…" she started, but then got quiet.

Loke looked at her and saw that what she was refusing to finish saying what was troubling her. "And what?" he encouraged.

"And having someone sleep next to me would help rid me of the nightmares."

Loke looked at her troubled face and then squeezed her hand. He had no idea that she had nightmares. If sleeping by her side would help, then he would do it. He climbed in the bed and she snuggled closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her to comfort her more and relaxed a little himself.

Lucy was thankful that Loke decided to sleep by her side. Hopefully she wouldn't have bad dreams. She felt so warm in his embrace. It wasn't nearly as warming as Natsu's scolding body heat, but it was nice. Thinking of Natsu didn't help Lucy's mood. She couldn't help it, and before she closed her eyes to get some rest, he was going through her head. _Oh, Natsu._

* * *

**Lisanna's POV:**

After searching for Lucy in Onibus Town, we got back on the train and headed towards our next destination. We spent hours in that town, but no Lucy in sight. I thought that Natsu would be crushed, but he just crossed off the town on the map and headed for the train station.

We got on the train that headed to the next town and Natsu got nauseous as usual, but it wasn't as strong as his normal fits. Maybe it was due to his determination to find Lucy that helped ease his nausea.

Despite this, I gave him a pill, made by Wendy, that would knock him out like one of Erza's punches. The train ride to the next town was two hours away, and this was a great time for me to be alone with my thoughts.

Staring at Natsu's face, I realized how crazy this situation was. Here I was, thinking that when I came back, maybe Natsu and I could be together. I knew in Edolas that Lucy and Natsu liked each other, but I didn't think that there would be a Lucy in Earthland since I never met her before. But coming back brought me face to face with what I feared, which was Natsu falling for someone else.

At first I was jealous, but then I saw hope when Lucy decided to go off on her own and do solo missions. I thought maybe she didn't like Natsu like that. I didn't see that she was only doing that so I could get reacquainted with my guild members. She was being so kind and I didn't see it.

But I noticed how Natsu would occasionally look around the guild to see if she was there, or when his face would brighten up a little when she came back from a mission unharmed, or how it would sadden when she would go on one. I noticed that when she ignored the team for their sake and mine, he would look troubled as if he wished she would come and join them rather than be apart. He probably didn't realize that he was doing all of this, but since all I ever did was watch Natsu, I noticed everything he did.

I was going to encourage Natsu to pursue Lucy, but by that time, Team Natsu discussed and decided that they wanted me to replace Lucy. I thought that maybe there was hope after all because why else would Natsu replace me with the girl he really wanted? I thought maybe I was reading too much into his actions when it came to Lucy, and he just did those things out of concern, not love. And the icing on the cake was when he came to my house that night and suggested that I move in with him. _There's no way he would suggest that if he was in love with someone else_, I kept telling myself.

But now, I'm confused. Now he's so determined and serious about getting Lucy back that maybe I was always right and he was…is in love with her. Or maybe he just strongly believes in helping out his nakama…but when I think about that, it seems less likely. I doubt he would go through all this just because she was his nakama alone.

Yet why am I praying that him going after Lucy is only to help out his nakama? Why do I have this hope that he isn't in love with her? Am I such a horrible person that at a time like this, with the situation that we are in, I would be thinking about that?

I put my hands to my face and cried into them. My heart ached with my love for Natsu, the pain of him not loving me back the way I love him, the hurt of seeing his hurt over Lucy, and my guilt of not focusing on finding Lucy.

I wiped my tears away and stared at Natsu again. I made a vow:

_In our present situation, I will not think of anything else except finding Lucy and making sure she is safe. Everything after that will be dealt with in due time, but right now, finding Lucy is our number one priority. Stay focused Lisanna!_

The train pulled up at Kunugi Station, and Natsu started to steer awake. "Lucy…I'm coming…" he mumbled in his half slumber. Maybe next time I'll give him half a pill so he'd be more alert when we got into town.

I helped him out of the train cart and onto the platform of the station. He became more and more aware, and when he was finally alert, we headed towards town in search of Lucy. For his sake, I hoped she'd be in this town. _Hang on, Lucy. We're coming for you._

(********)

_Meanwhile, back in Cinder Village in an alley across from Sunset Moon Hotel, two pairs of eyes were watching the building like predators stalking their prey. _"Lucy Heartfilia huh?"

* * *

Please R&R! Thank you so much!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! I know it has been a while since I uploaded a new chapter, and for that I am sorry. Life is a bit hectic. My job is demanding and I have to take care of my house, so the little time that I have for myself is devoted to writing my story (which is not enough time). I know that I said that I might upload more than one chapter for Christmas, but things got in the way and my lovely editor has tech problems. I hope it will not take me long to upload for you guys, since I also start school again on the 7th. I think things will work out.

Anyway, this chapter introduces a couple of new, but important people. This chapter is warming you guys up to meeting the new characters, so much is not explained about them yet, but keep reading because they are very important people with a purpose. I normally don't like writing A/N's in the actual story, but there are a few in there, so for people who hate the A/N's in the story, I'm sorry. Anyway guys, thanks so much for the favs and reviews...it wasn't 50 but I'm just happy that I got anything at all. You guys ROCK! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail does not belong to me.

* * *

**Normal POV:**

_**Cinder Oaks**_

Natsu and Lisanna have traveled to Cinder Oaks, the forest that borders Cinder Village. It has been a long and disappointing journey for the two. Each town they went to was Lucy less, and the more Natsu hoped and prayed that Lucy was in the next town they would have to visit, the more frustrated he became when she was no were to be found.

Lisanna was saddened that Lucy was not found yet. She figured that Lucy couldn't have had a huge leap in front of them from when they found out she was gone, so why was it taking so long to find her? Unless she rode the train nonstop to a predestination, she shouldn't have gotten far. And the more frustrated Natsu got, the more Lisanna wanted to find Lucy. Seeing Natsu this way always broke her heart, especially when he is so determined.

They walked in the dark forest, being led by a lantern and by the barely bright moonlight. They both were extremely exhausted, having traveled for more than ten hours by train and foot, and if they didn't stop to rest, they were gonna fall apart.

Lisanna stopped walking when she reached a small pond and decided that she needed to rinse her face off. She went to the pond and bent over to look at her reflection in the water. She looked a mess, and it was due to lack of rest. She scooped the water in her hands and splashed the refreshing coolness on her face. The water felt so good on her skin and it actually calmed her a bit. When she was finished, she decided to take a seat on a plushy spot of grass on the ground. _Maybe if we rest, Natsu would calm down and we'd be better suited to find Lucy, _Lisanna thought as she sprawled out on the grass.

Natsu noticed that Lisanna's scent wasn't next to him and he turned around to find her lying on the ground. He was frustrated and didn't understand why she was relaxing while they needed to find Lucy. Every second counted. If they wasted time, Lucy could move further and further away from them, so they needed to pick up the paste. He walked over to Lisanna and saw that she had her eyes closed. _She's sleeping? At a time like this? _he thought. He moved to wake her, but when he looked closer at her, he noticed that her clothes were disheveled and she looked exhausted. He looked down at himself and he didn't look much better. He scratched the back of his head and sighed. _Maybe a little rest wouldn't kill us, but not too long. _He walked to the tree near where Lisanna slept and sat on the grass below it. He leaned his back against the tree and closed his eyes. It didn't take him too long to fall into a much-needed sleep.

As Natsu slept, he dreamt about Lucy. He dreamt about all the good times they had together, not only on the team, but just hanging out together. And then his dream shifted to one particular moment him and Lucy had in her bedroom before they went to Edolas were Lisanna was:

* * *

_Natsu was sitting on Lucy's bed, waiting for her to get out of the shower. Happy was with Wendy and Carle at the guild, so he was bored just sitting there with no one to talk to. He got off of her bed and started to look around her room. He searched in her bookcase for something he could read (that he would enjoy) and that's when he stumbled upon her journal. _I didn't know Lucy kept a diary. Let's have a look! _he thought. He flipped through the pages and most of the contents didn't grab his attention. He kept flipping the pages until he came across a page that only had one line written on it: '_What is your ideal life partner?'

_Natsu didn't know why that one line raised his curiosity, especially since he passed a load of other, more interesting stuff in this book. He didn't understand why this question was so important to him, but all he knew was it was. For some reason, seeing this in Lucy's journal made him want to know the answer to the question. If it was written in anyone else's journal, he would be curious to know their answer to it, but not as much as he _needed _to know Lucy's. _

_He heard Lucy finishing up in the bathroom, so he put her journal back where he found it and returned to the bed. When Lucy got out of the bathroom, she brought a fresh scent of vanilla and warm sunshine that Natsu always liked smelling on her. She went to her desk, ignoring Natsu as she always did, and continued to write her novel. Natsu watched her every move, not understanding the need to do so, and he couldn't help but smile at the little things she did subconsciously, like shaking her foot when she's antsy, or the way she would sigh when she was stuck in her writing, or the way she would lick her beautifully plump lips when… _Why am I thinking about Lucy's lips that way? _But now that it was in his head, he had to admit that her lips were plump and beautiful. They looked like lips that were meant for long passionate kisses, and Mavis knows why, Natsu wanted to know how it would feel to kiss those delicious looking lips._

_Thinking about that got Natsu to remember the question from Lucy's journal. Without thinking it through, Natsu upped and blurted out his thoughts. "Say, Luce. What would be our ideal life partner?"_

_Lucy abruptly stopped her writing and stared at Natsu. At first her face was shocked at his question, but then she sighed, closed her book and put her pen down. She turned her chair to face Natsu and her face was scolding. "You've been reading my journal, haven't you?" she asked with venom in her voice. _

_Natsu flinched and looked away while scratching his chin. "No, I_−_"_

"_Don't bother denying it, Natsu! Or else why would you ask me a question that came directly from it, huh?"_

_Natsu shrugged his shoulders and pouted. "I got bored waiting for you, so I found it. I didn't read all that other boring stuff though, so you don't have to worry."_

"_Boring? Now my life, my personal life I should add, is boring?" _

_Lucy was fuming and Natsu needed to calm her down before she threw him out and he would never find out the answer to his question. "Not boring," he started, "just not interesting." He tried to smile, but it didn't work._

"_That's it Natsu. Get out!" Lucy got up from her chair to grab a pillow to throw at Natsu. To his surprise, the pillow hit him pretty hard in the face. When he picked the pillow up, a book fell out of it, which explained why his face was in pain. "Get out, Natsu! You're so mean. What kind of person would snoop through someone else's personal life and then call it boring? It would only be you. Leave!" _

_Lucy then started to attack Natsu on her bed with a series of punches and smacks (they didn't really hurt him, but they were super annoying). When she attempted to grab him and throw him out of her window, Natsu grabbed her wrists and pinned her down on her bed. "Stop, Luce. No need to hit me further."_

"_Well, you weren't leaving fast enough for me, which started to piss me off," she said through clenched teeth. _

_She was breathing heavy from her small workout assaulting Natsu, and his eyes noticed how her chest made quick up and down strokes with her breathing. Her face was flushed and she had an angry pout on her face. For some unknown reason, Natsu enjoyed seeing Lucy out of breath and steamy. Something possessive inside of him wanted to kiss her pout away, but before he could do anything, Lucy kneed him in his groin. "AAHH!" he screamed while falling from her bed to her floor. He cupped his family jewels in his hands while staring at her with tears in his eyes. "Luce…why?" he squealed._

_Lucy jumped on top of Natsu, straddling his waist, which caused him more pain. She held his wrists to the floor and glared at him. "Don't think you're so tough, holding me down like that just because you're stronger than me. I have strength in other ways, which is why you're in so much pain right now," she said. _

_She glared down at Natsu and he stared back at her. Although he was in pain, his body couldn't help but react to Lucy straddling him. And by the surprised face she gave him, he knew that she could feel it too. One minute his waist was warmed by Lucy's, and the next, she was climbing off of him, leaving him to quickly stand and turn from her to hide his erection. _

_Lucy turned away from him out of embarrassment, but then she blushed. She couldn't believe that _she _was able to get Natsu excited. She sighed and then walked back over to her desk. She sat in the chair and faced Natsu, who still had his back to her. "Natsu," she called calmly._

_Natsu stiffened at the sound of her voice (in more places than one). He couldn't understand why his body was reacting the way it was and he was too embarrassed to turn and face Lucy. He didn't even know what to say to her. He didn't move for a while, but then she called his name again. He calmed himself down, and then finally his erection lessened. He still had one, but it would be less noticeable to Lucy, so he slowly turned his face, thinking that when he faced her, she would be disgusted with him. But when he did, she looked calm, and he could see a small hint of a blush on her cheeks. He didn't know what to make of this, but he wasn't going to ask her why she looked fine after knowing that he got an erection from playing around with her. Still speechless, he waited for Lucy to do the talking._

_Lucy saw that Natsu looked embarrassed and she couldn't help but blush even more. She got the chance to see two sides of Natsu in the matter of minutes that most people wouldn't normally see. Lucy didn't voice what it did to her body because it would make the atmosphere tenser. Instead, she broke the silence lingering over their heads. "Um…before I decide to tell you or not, I just want to ask you a question first," she said._

_Natsu was confused. _What does she want to ask me? _Then he became tense. _I hope she doesn't want to ask me about what happened just now! If that's it, then I'll just leave, _he thought to himself, preparing to take off if Lucy decided to ask about his excitement. "What is it?"_

"_Why do you care what I look for in a man?"_

_Natsu was puzzled, but then remembered how this whole crazy ordeal started. _That's right. I wanted to know about Lucy's life partner. _Natsu was relieved that that was Lucy's question and relaxed himself. He sat on her bed and scratched his head. Why did he care what Lucy looked for in a man? He couldn't answer her question, but something in him needed to know. And he knew that he wouldn't feel right unless she told him, but he couldn't tell that to Lucy. He scratched the back of his head and said, "Just curious, Luce."_

_Lucy was a bit disappointed with his answer, which he could see on her face. She looked at him for a moment and then sighed. "Fine, whatever. I'll tell you since you're so curious."_

_Natsu straightened and focused on Lucy. "Really?"_

"_Yeah, why not?" she replied. Her gaze traveled from Natsu to the ceiling and then she said, "There are many normal qualities that make a good life partner, like being kind, smart, romantic, whatever. But I guess those would be boring, especially after being at Fairy Tail. I don't think normal is in my vocabulary anymore."_

_Natsu just kept looking at Lucy. _What is she talking about? _Although he was a bit confused, he let her finish._

_She turned her head to face him and continued. "Although normal would be a nice change for me, it wouldn't make me happy. So, I guess I'm looking for a person who makes me laugh, who knows what to do when I feel sad, who would never leave me feeling lonely, who would protect me no matter what. He doesn't have to be smart or charming or even the best looking guy. And he doesn't have to be a gentleman all the time. Once he makes me happy just being himself and, above all else, love me for who I am, I think that is what I am looking for."_

_Lucy and Natsu stared at each other for a long time, and all Natsu could think was, _can I be all those things that Lucy is looking for? But wait, why do I want to be?

_Lucy closed her eyes and sighed softly. She stood from her chair and walked over to Natsu. She sat on her bed and then took one of Natsu's hands into her own. Natsu was a little shocked at her sudden action, but then she looked him in the eyes and his heart melted. The look she gave him was that of hope, and he couldn't understand why. She held his hand in hers firmly and then said, "I don't think that's so much to ask for, right Natsu?"_

* * *

But then, darkness clouded his precious memory and Natsu was woken out of his slumber. He opened his eyes and was surrounded by the pitch black forest. He straightened himself from the tree and looked over to where Lisanna was sleeping, but the grass was empty. Instantly he rose from the ground and looked around the forest. "Lisanna? Where are you?" but nothing was replied. Natsu started to panic and tried to sniff her scent out. His eyes widened in terror, as her scent was nowhere to be found, which had to be impossible. "Lisanna!" he called out again, but still nothing.

He started to frantically search through the trees, but he couldn't see anything in this darkness, which was also strange because it seemed like the forest got darker than when they first stopped. Natsu didn't know where to go, but he wasn't going to give up. He kept running, anxiously trying to find Lisanna.

"Don't worry, she's in a good place."

Natsu abruptly stopped his movements. His eyes widened at the sudden voice that he heard. It was a male's voice that he has never heard before [A/N: picture Itachi's voice from Naruto…the Japanese voice]. He looked up and all around him, but he couldn't see anyone. "Who's there…and where is Lisanna?" he asked menacingly.

"Like I said, she's in a good−"

"Where. Is. She?" Natsu said again, with malice in his voice. His fists were flamed and he was ready to kick some ass. He still couldn't see who was talking and he didn't know where the guy was, but if he hurt Lisanna, he would never forgive him. And since he knew that he would never forget what this guy sounded like, he would search until the end of Earthland to find him.

The voice chuckled, which irritated Natsu. "So protective, but unnecessary. She's where she needs to be, which is where you should be. This path that you are taking is one that you are not ready for yet."

Natsu got even more frustrated. He couldn't understand what the man was talking about and he still needed to find Lisanna. "This path? I don't know what you mean, but you better tell me where Lisanna is or I'll−"

"You'll what, Natsu? Chase after what you can't see to find her even if you don't know where that may be? So you would abandon your search for Lucy?"

Natsu's eyes widened. His flames exhausted and he stared into the open forest with shock. _Lucy…how does he know about Lucy? _Natsu didn't know what was going on, and he couldn't help but be surprised at the words that the man spoke. "How…how do you know about that?" he asked.

"There's not much that I don't know, Natsu. For instance, that was a rather peculiar memory you were dreaming just now."

The shock on Natsu's face just grew, and he looked around in the forest to search for what he couldn't see. _How in the hell did he know about my dream? _"Who and what are you? How did you know about that?" Natsu was shaken. This unseen man knew things that he shouldn't, and Natsu didn't realize it at first, but it frightened him.

"Natsu, who and what I am will not matter. What does matter is you not continuing your journey to find Lucy."

Natus snapped out of it with the mere mention of Lucy's name. He looked into the empty space in front of him and became serious. "Why must I give up on finding Lucy? She's my nakama, and I'll be damned if I give up on her. I have to find Lucy because…"

"Because what, Natsu?"

Natsu just stared, unable to figure out what to say next.

"Because you love her? More than a nakama? Is that why, Natsu?" the man asked.

Natsu just stood there frozen. The man's words clicked in his head, and it hit him that he did love Lucy. _Why? Why didn't I see that before? Why did he know it before I did? _But deep down, Natsu always knew that Lucy was precious to him. He didn't understand why, but he was concerned about her more than anyone in the guild. He always wanted to make sure that she was smiling, because he loved that smile of hers. When she was sad, or felt lonely, he always tried to keep her company or do something nice for her to cheer her up. When she started to go on solo missions after Lisanna came back, he always worried about her and was so relieved when she came back unscathed. When his team decided to put Lisanna in Lucy's place, he didn't want to do it, but he didn't want to hurt Lisanna's feelings, but he felt horrible knowing that he hurt Lucy's. _All of this was because I loved her? _

"Then what of Lisanna?"

Natsu blinked. _Lisanna? _For a second, he forgot that she was missing too. He closed his eyes then asked, "Where is she?"

"She's safe. I'm on your side, believe it or not."

"How are you on my side, when you're telling me to forget Lucy? When you wouldn't tell me where Lisanna is?" His irritation flared again. "I don't even know who you are, so don't say that you're on my side."

There was silence for a moment, and then the trees started to sway, allowing the leaves to dance in the wind. Natsu was puzzled, and then his eyes started to drift. He tried desperately to fight to keep them up, but it didn't work out. "No…why? Stop it!"

"Natsu, when you awaken, you'll be where you need to be."

"…but Luce is…"

"Lucy is in good hands. If you continue on this path Natsu…"

Natsu was struggling to hear the man's words. His consciousness was slowly fading, but he had to hear what he was saying. "Luce…"

"She will die."

The darkness engulfed Natsu before those words registered. He lost consciousness without knowing anything. _Luce._

* * *

_**Senka Grove**_

Meanwhile, in the town of Senka Grove, Erza and Gray are seen at the Rough Bykerz Guild, which is a moderately dark guild, where Erza has cremated all of the members except for the so called leader. His name is Zenki, and he looked like a goth biker with spiked red hair, dark black makeup, and dressed in leather, spikes and chains. He was the know it all when it came to dark guilds, so if they needed information, most likely he was the perfect person to get it from. Erza held him up by the collar of his shirt and gave him her famous death glare. If he wasn't quivering before, he was definitely doing it now. "We need help finding someone, and we think you might be the person to give us answers," she said.

"I…I'll tell you anything you need to know, just please don't hurt me. I'm delicate," Zenki pleaded.

"Do you know of a guild who is targeting celestial mages?" Gray asked. He was standing on a pile of men he wiped out, and his expression sent chills down Zenki's spine.

"Celestial mages? I'm not sure, but I did hear that this one celestial mage was needed for some big plan of this one guild."

Erza tightened her hold on Zenki's collar and braced him, rather roughly, against a pillar in the middle of the guild. She glared in his eyes and asked, "And who is this mage?"

Zenki started sweating profusely and gulped loudly. "I…I don't know the chick's name. All I know is that she's the most important part of the plan and they needed her magical power."

"What else do you know?" Gray asked.

"Th…th…that's it," Zenki stuttered.

"Think harder," Erza said, staring at him with her death glare.

Zenki nodded like crazy and then shut his eyes tight to think. He popped them open and said, "Wait. There was something else."

Gray walked over to where Erza held Zenki up and looked into the man's face. "What is it?"

"They need her power, but they need her child's power more."

This confused both Gray and Erza. "What the hell do you mean her child's power?" Gray asked.

"I don't know. That's all I know, I swear."

"And what's the name of this guild?" Erza asked him, her hold on him getting tighter.

Zenki's frightened face lit up, as if he was going to tell them their answer, but before he could, he passed out.

"Damn it, Erza. Your hold was too tight," Gray fumed.

"No. This wasn't me. I made sure he had enough space in his airways to talk." Erza let go of Zenki and he slid to the floor.

"I guess I'll take the credit for this one then, Titania."

Gray and Erza turned to the voice that they heard and found a man standing by the door. He was tall and lean, with long golden hair that went down to his back in a ponytail. He was wearing a white vest, showing his abs, black pants and black combat boots. On his hands were black gloves and he wore a white headband. He stood with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. He was a sight to see, but in the current situation, Erza nor Gray cared about looks. "Who are you," Erza asked the man.

He straightened himself and then opened his eyes. His cloudy grey eyes pierced Erza's, and she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. She gasped for air and fell to her knees. "Erza!" Gray called out as he went to her side to aid her. She was breathing heavy and she started to sweat. Gray didn't know what was going on, but he had a feeling that this mysterious man was doing this to her. He looked at the man. "What the hell did you do to her?"

"She's trying to fight to stay awake. I've never had a problem stealing someone's consciousness before. This is exactly what I expected from the Titania."

"What… are… you… talking… about?" Erza said with each breath.

"And you can speak…very impressive." The man was surprised, even though his voice was calm. "I'm trying to put you to sleep and I don't have time to waste with you fighting it, so please, give up your consciousness, and spare me from reverting to violence."

Erza and Gray looked at the man. He looked as calm as ever, like nothing fazed him, but they had no idea why he was here or what he wanted. "Why do you want Erza to sleep? That doesn't make any sense."

"Gray Fullbuster. It's not just Erza Scarlet that will sleep. You will as well."

Gray's eyes widened. "Why? What are you after?"

"It's not what I'm after, but rather a means to stop you from going for what you're after."

Gray stared at the man in confusion. _What does he mean by that? _Erza's cough grabbed his attention. He held her in his arms as she fought to breath. Her eyes were closed and it looked like she was going to lose consciousness any second. He looked at the man and asked, "What the hell do you mean? Why are you trying to hurt me and Erza?"

"Not hurt, just disorient you from your path. The path to Miss Lucy Heartfilia."

Gray was stunned. "How did you know about−"

"All you need to know is that if you continue on this path, Miss Heartfilia will die."

Gray's eyes widened in terror. _Die? _"Wh…what do you mean die?"

"I've already said too much. It seems like the Titania has finally fell asleep."

Gray looked down and sure enough, Erza was knocked out. He started to sweat and looked back at the man. The man raised his right hand and then snapped his fingers. Gray's vision was blurry, and then he was knocked.

[A/N: This man is not the man from the woods who dealt with Natsu.]

(*****)

"Rex."

The golden haired man turned around and faced someone. "If I knew you were behind me, I would have put on more of a show."

"You always do unnecessary things when a task is so simple."

"I know, but it was nice seeing the shock in their eyes, especially Erza Scarlet. I never had trouble stealing consciousness before her. She really intrigues me. I would love to one day test her full strength with mine."

"Do not forget why we are here, Rex. We are not to cause harm to Fairy Tail."

Rex sighed. "You always take away my thunder don't you?"

"And you always love stepping out of bounds, don't you? Remember why we are here, or do you want things to become catastrophic?"

Rex closed his eyes and turned back to the fallen bodies of Gray and Erza. "I guess we should take them back now," he said.

"Yes. I already took care of the other two."

"Good. And what about Miss Heartfilia?"

The man behind Rex was silent for a moment, and then said, "Soon."

"Alright. Let's go."

* * *

A/N: The second man who Rex was talking to was the man who was in the woods with Natsu. His name was not introduced yet, so stay tuned. R&R!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **It's been a while and I have to apologize to you guys. I hoped to have uploaded chapters sooner, but life gets in the way.

Anyway, to **ichiinoses, **I won't answer your questions yet, but you'll get to see a little more of the men in this chapter. Everything about them and their reasons for doing what they're doing will be explained in later chaps, so read on ;)! To everyone else, this chapter has a lot of cliffhangers (sorry), and I know there will be times when you guys would be confused at parts. All I have to say to that is everything will be explained later.

I hope you guys enjoy. Please R&R!

**Disclaimer: **Do not own Fairy Tail.

* * *

**Lucy's POV:**

_Where am I?_

_I don't remember coming to such a dark place. Is anyone there?_

_Or am I all alone…_

_Where's Loke? Did he leave me? Or did I run away from him? But why… why would I do something like that?_

_I don't know what's happening. Someone please help. _

_Anyone…_

"_You're not alone."_

_Who said that? Where are they? "Who's there?"_

"_Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you."_

"_Who are you? I can't see anything, how can I not be afraid?"_

"_Open your eyes, Lucy."_

_No. I'm afraid. If I open my eyes, what will I see? Who will be standing in front of me? I don't know what to do…_

"_Just open your eyes. Please."_

_For some reason, the voice talking to me sounded calm and small. When it asked me to open my eyes, I could hear longing in its tone, like it was desperate for me to see who was in front of me. I was scared, but I did what the voice asked me to. I opened my eyes…_

_Ahhh… "You're a… you're a…"_

"_A child. I know. See, opening wasn't so bad was it?"_

_What a beautifully small child. He couldn't be more than seven years old. And his features were so familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on why. His hair was strawberry blonde and his eyes were large for his face and the color of onyx. His face was so serene and mature at the same time, that I was shocked that he was a child. But what really got to me was the smile that he gave me when I finally opened my eyes. It was so like _his_ grin that I couldn't help but gasped at the familiar feeling it gave me. Who was I looking at?_

"_Who are you? And why are you here?" Then I looked around at my surroundings, but it was nothing but dark emptiness, except for the light between me and the boy. "Where are we?"_

_He just stared at me with that grin on his face, like he couldn't get enough of me. Some might find it a little creepy, but for some odd reason, his longing stare made me want to hug him tight in my protective arms, like a guardian… or a parent._

"_Are you going to stare at me all day, or are you going to answer my questions?"_

"_Sorry. It's just that I've wanted to meet you for a long time. I can't believe I'm here talking to you. You can't understand how amazing this feels."_

"_What are you talking about? I never met you before. And how can you say that you've always wanted to meet me when you're so young? You look barely seven, so you haven't know me forever." I was confused. What did he mean by what he said? This whole thing was so confusing._

"_When I'm around you, it seems that I can't help but say too much than I'm suppose to. I have to keep in mind of that."_

"_Why?"_

"_Right now, that doesn't matter." His grin was gone from his face and he looked at me seriously. His face was still calm, but too mature for him. My protective instincts wanted to hold him tight, which confused me more. "I'll answer your questions now, but even if my answers puzzle you more, you have to promise not to question me further."_

"_Why do I need to do something like that?"_

_He stared at me for a second and then said, "Because, you make me want to spill my heart out to you, but now is not the time nor the place for such actions… or emotions."_

_Everything this child said made me lose my mind. First off, what is he talking about when he said emotions? Why would he be emotional to me? He doesn't know me…at least I don't know him. Second, the way he talks to me is if I'm talking to someone my age or older, not a seven year old. What the hell did that mean? And lastly, why couldn't I ask more questions? I have a lot of questions that needs answers, so why the promise?_

_He looked at me, patiently waiting for me to make a decision, but I didn't know what to do. If I had questions, I would want them to be answered, but I don't want this child to be put in a predicament he would be uncomfortable with. Damn you, protective instincts! "Fine, I promise. But before you start to talk, I want to refine my questions. Since you're only going to answer the questions I ask now, at least agree for me to change them."_

_It was quiet for a moment, and I thought that maybe he would refuse me. "I'll accept your proposal, but you can't ask more than four questions, so think hard about them."_

"_That's fair. Now let me think…" Four questions alone were not enough. There were a lot of things that confused me and I needed to figure out why, but I had to think about the things that confused me the most. He waited patiently for me, like we had all the time in the world, and his eyes held so much emotions. Why? Why did he have that look for me? Who was I to him and vice versa?_

_Before I drowned myself in more questions that I would have to sort through and choose from, I came to a decision on the questions that needed to be answered the most. "Who are you? Why are you here? What do you want with me?... And why do you look so familiar?"_

_When I asked that last question, his eyes widened and there was genuine shock in them. But it was for a split second, that I wasn't altogether sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me. He walked closer to me, and for the first time since talking to him, I noticed the distance between us. He was standing far away from me, as if he wasn't sure to come close, but now he was a few feet away. Up close, his features were more pronounced and my heart melted. Besides his hair and his way too big eyes, which only added to his adorableness, he looked so much like him!_

Like Natsu…

_When the boy was close enough to me, he looked up at me and said, "My name is Tenjin. There are two reasons why I am here in your subconscious mind. The first was already explained to you. I've wanted to meet you for a long time. And the second reason was to confirm something." He looked down from my face to my stomach. He stared at it for a long time with eyes so fierce, as if he was looking through me to what ever was inside._

_I gasped. Did he look at my stomach because of what was inside of me? How would he know something like that? I took a step back and wrapped my arms around my midsection, protecting it from that intense stare of his. He looked into my eyes fiercely. It was almost uncomfortable. To think a child could have such a look. "What was it that you were trying to confirm?"_

_He smirked and shook his head. "You promised no more questions, no matter how much my answers may confuse you."_

"_But your answer is incomplete. That isn't fair_−_"_

"_I said I'd answer your questions, but I never said that I would be fair about my answers. You don't need to worry about what I came to confirm. It's already done."_

_Even though what he said was true, it still irritated the hell out of me. What a brat! _

_As if he knew what I was thinking, his smirk grew into a huge grin. "Moving on. What I want with you is to protect you." His face got intensely serious that it startled me. "You'll be facing a lot of danger in the future. And not just with the guild that is after you, but also with the people you thought you could trust. I'm here to protect you."_

_My eyes widened. How could a child protect me? "I have protection. Loke is by my side."_

"_He can't be by your side forever. After all, his magical energy fades away the longer he stays on Earthland. The danger you will face will be too great for him to handle by himself. That's my role."_

"_But what can you do? You're just a child?" Why would he risk himself for me? A child like him should be protected, not doing the protecting._

"_Hmph. Don't judge me solely on my appearance. I might shock you," he said with a smug face. "Anyway, I also came to warn you not to trust people so easily."_

"_What do_−_" _

"_And before you ask me a question, which you promised you wouldn't," he scolded, "I'm telling you that even though people seem helpful, you should watch your back more carefully, especially since you can't tell the difference between friend and foe by simply looking." _

_He folded his arms in front of him and his face reminded me of Master's whenever he was scolding Team Natsu for destroying towns. I couldn't help but laugh at his pose. Even though I was older, he was treating me as if I was the child between us, and it made me smile. _

_He looked at me confused, and his face was so adorable that my smile widened. His confusion deepened. "What are you smiling and laughing at?"_

"_You're so cute when you act like an adult. Even though I find it enjoyable, I hope you don't treat your parents this way."_

_My comment must have struck a nerve or something because his face saddened a little and then he went back to being serious, as if guarding himself. My protective instincts rose up again, and I just wanted to hug that sadness away, but for some reason, I knew he wouldn't let me touch him. From the start he cautioned his distance from me, and I couldn't figure out if it was for his sake or mine. _

"_Regarding your last question, I can't give you an answer right now."_

"_That wasn't part of the deal," I said a little mad that he would gyp me of our agreement._

"_You don't understand, Lucy," he said with a whisper. He looked into my eyes and his eyes were soft. There was pain there and longing, and it tore at my heart. Why was he showing such emotions to me? He turned his head away from me quickly and sighed. "I hate calling you that name."_

_That puzzled me. "Sorry, but that is my name. I don't go by anything else."_

_He turned back to me. "That is your name, but that's not what I want to call you." He stared at my stomach again, but this time his stare was calmer. Then he did something unexpected. He walked up to me and put his palm on my stomach. I didn't even notice that I removed my arms from my belly until he stepped to me. He moved his hand back and forth, almost soothingly, and then he removed it. He crossed his arms and walked backwards from me, no longer looking at me as if to hide his emotions. "Anyway, when you wake up, you won't remember anything, but our conversation will always be in the back of your mind. And so will I."_

"_If I won't remember you, then how will I know that you're protecting me?"_

_He smirked. "I'll be working from the shadows, but you'll always feel me. After all, I got you out of the street and into the safety of the hotel, didn't I?"_

_Wait… no way! Shock spread across my face. "Don't tell me…that was you who bumped into me?" It couldn't have been. The person who did that had to have been at least my height, and this kid was a midget. _

"_It's time to wake up, Lucy."_

"_Wait…" but it was too late. I felt my mind stirring awake. Even though I knew it was futile, I tried to fight to stay asleep, just to confirm something from him. But the more I fought, the more he kept slipping away. _

"_I'll see you soon…M…"_

* * *

"Lola!"

My mind was foggy, but I heard someone calling me. It was rather annoying.

"Lola, are you okay?"

"Leo." Why was he shouting?

"Thank goodness. Can you open your eyes?"

I did. My head was spinning and I had the biggest headache. "What happened?" I asked, trying to sit up from the bed.

"You were thrashing around in your sleep for a minute, like you were fighting with something. Is everything all right? What were you dreaming about?"

I could hear the concern in Loke's voice. He was really worried and I was too. I couldn't remember what I dreamt about so I couldn't figure out why I was thrashing in my sleep. And the more I tried to remember, the worse my headache got. "Sorry about that, Leo. I don't remember a thing."

"Maybe you were dreaming about fighting off the dark guild, or somebody trying to harm you. Whoever you were fighting should count themselves lucky that they were only in your dreams. You got a mean right hook, and if they were in front of you, they'd be in as much pain as I am right now."

I was confused by what he said, but then I looked at his face. I gasped. He had a bruise on his cheek and I felt bad that I caused him pain. "I am so sorry Leo. Here let me look at your face." I gently grabbed his head and pulled his face to inspect his bruise. It was fresh, which meant he needed to apply ice to it before it swelled. "Okay, I'll be right back. I'm gonna get some ice for your face."

"No, it's okay. It's not that bad."

"Yes it is. I don't want people to think that I abuse you. Especially Madame Petrovski who already thinks I'm a sadist. Be right back."

I hopped off the bed and ran out the room in search of ice. As I ran down the hall, I smelt food, so I followed the amazing aroma into the dinning hall. Madame had laid out a beautiful breakfast feast, and I instantly forgot why I was running around. My stomach growled at the sight of the food, and then I remembered that I haven't eaten for a very long time. As I approached the table, Madame walked out of the kitchen carrying another platter of food.

Her face beamed at seeing me. She placed the platter on the table and then approached me. "Good morning, mommy. How are you feeling? You must be starving."

I nodded my head to her and she giggled. I must have looked as hungry as I felt for her to react this way. She grabbed my hand and led me to a chair at the table. I sat down and then she moved away to pour me some tea. She placed it in front of me with a smile. "Thank you so much, Madame Petrovski."

"No, it's my pleasure. I haven't cooked like this in a long time, especially for someone in your condition. It brought out the grandmother in me."

"You're a grandmother?" I asked a little surprised.

"Yup. But my grandson is a grown man now, and he rarely visits, so cooking like this makes me nostalgic. Now, make sure you eat everything in front of you. It's made with nutrients for you and the baby to make you guys healthy and strong." She patted my head and then went back into the kitchen.

"Thanks for the food," I said before I dug in. The food was so amazing. I haven't eaten food this tasty in a while, _sorry Mira. _It had that great grandmother's touch, I assumed since I didn't know my own grandmothers. It felt nice to have someone care enough to prepare food for my baby and me. Without much thought, my free hand reached down to my stomach and rubbed it softly. I don't know why, but rubbing my stomach the way I did reminded me of something, but I couldn't figure out what.

I continued eating the delicious food and Madame came from the kitchen. She paused on her way to the table and looked behind me. "Oh my word…what happened to your face, Leo?!"

I turned around and saw him standing by the door. He rubbed the back of his head and grinned. "Well, Lola tosses in her sleep rather roughly. She was suppose to get me ice, but I guess she forgot."

I hit my palm to my forehead. "I'm sorry Leo. When I saw the food, my hunger made me forget about your face."

"It's okay. I figured that was it when I smelled the food from the room. I can take care of my face."

"No let me do it. It's my fault anyway."

"No, you sit and eat," Madame said. Her voice was sharp and I did what I was told. She looked at Loke's face and said, "I'll get you some ice in a towel. That must have been one hell of a punch."

"You have no idea," Leo said.

"Well, go sit and eat some food while I get the ice and a bandage." She started to walk away, but then she came back towards Loke and said, "Are you sure this happened in her sleep? Or are you trying to hide one of your S&M games gone wrong?"

Loke just stared at her, wide eyed, and she laughed while going in the kitchen to retrieve the material for his face.

I was embarrassed and a little pissed. "See. I told you she would think I'm a sadist."

Loke just shrugged, grinning about the old woman's thoughts and then started to eat his food. Madam came out with ice wrapped in a towel and a bandage for his face. She tossed him the ice and he winced while placing it on his face. I felt so bad for socking him in my sleep, and I really wished I could remember what I was dreaming about to make me act that way. I normally was a peaceful sleeper, or at least that's what Natsu always told me.

A knot formed in my stomach at the mere thought of him, but I didn't want to have a sad face around Loke and Madame. I shook my head and went back to eating.

I finished my food and helped Madame clean up the mess, even though she insisted that I don't. Loke finished too and helped up clean to make things go faster. After using the ice compress, I bandaged his face for him and Madame allowed us to retire to our room to get changed for the day.

After Loke and I showered and got dressed (at separate times) I decided that we should go and visit the different vendors in town.

"Maybe we should lay low for a while. We don't know who or where our enemy is and I don't think we should attract any attention if we don't have to," Loke said to me.

"I know that's probably what we should do Leo, but I have this need to go out and walk around town. I don't want to be cooped up in the hotel all day. Look, I won't attract attention. My new look practically blends in with the crowd. I'm even wearing regular clothes so no guy would look at me. You'll be there right beside me, so if anything happens, which I doubt anything will, I know you'll protect me."

"_That's my role."_

My eyes widened in shock and fear. _Where the hell did that come from? _I looked around frantically and it must have caused Loke to worry.

"What's wrong?" he asked with his voice dripping with concern and protection.

No one was around, but I know I heard a voice. I looked at Loke, but he only looked anxious. I could tell that he didn't hear the voice like I did. Chucking it up to nothing, I shrugged and said, "It's nothing. Just my imagination. Anyway, we don't have to go far. If you want, we can roam the area around the hotel. Please, Leo."

His face still had a bit of concern to it, but it calmed down. He sighed and put his hand out. "Fine, but you're not leaving my side and to make sure of that, I'm taking your hand."

I looked at his outstretched hand for a moment, and then smiled. "Deal. Can we go now?"

He took my hand in his and nodded.

(*****)

We walked out into town and it was lively like when we first arrived. The vendors were packed and the people were noisy. It made me nostalgic for Magnolia… for Fairy Tail.

We walked over to a book vendor and I fell in love. This vendor had the new book series from one of my favorite authors and I couldn't help but buy the whole series. These were Levy and my favorite books. We usually traded them with each other. It made me a little sad that those days were over, but maybe I could mail her the books when I was finished with them. I wouldn't put my name or an address on it, but she'll know it was from me the minute she opened it. That put a smile on my face and the brief sadness passed.

After leaving the book vendor, we walked around the town some more. There were little events going on and we stopped to check them out for a while. One show that caught my attention was the magic show. It was similar to Fairy Tail's Magic Display shows, which is when people would show off their different magical abilities. The show was rather fun. It wasn't as big as Fairy Tail's, but it still was nice. One guy's magic was explosive bubbles, but for the show, he exploded his bubbles in the air like fireworks, which was cool. One girl's magic was card magic, just like Cana's. A lot of different magic was displayed which was really fun.

Then the last act got on stage to display his magic.

Unlike the other people who performed, who looked joyous and boisterous, this guy was very stoic and rather bored. His looks stood out to me for some reason. He was tall and lean, and his hair was long and golden and was held in a ponytail. He was wearing a white vest with nothing underneath, like Natsu. He wore black pants and black combat boots. On his hands were black gloves and he wore a white headband. He stood with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. I didn't know why I felt this way, but he made me feel uneasy. The crowd was oblivious to this man's dangerous presence, but something about him wasn't safe.

I squeezed Loke's hand and he looked down at me concerned. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know why, but we should leave here now."

Just as I said that, the man opened his eyes and stared his cloudy grey eyes at me. No one else, but me.

A loud pitching sound started to ring in my ears, and I wasn't the only one who heard it because everyone in the crowd was screaming and holding their hands to their ears. Loke let go of my hand to put his hands to his ears and just like the rest of the crowd, we both fell to our knees as the sound heightened in our head.

I couldn't breathe and the sound got louder and louder and…

* * *

**Normal POV:**

Everyone who was in the crowd was now face down on the floor, unconscious. The man on stage jumped off and walked over to the brown headed woman lying next to the orange headed man. He stood above them, staring hard at the woman, with a face that gave away no emotion.

He was about to bend down and scoop the woman up, but he felt a presence behind him. "I guess I'll leave her to you," he said.

"Going over the top again I see. This is attracting too much attention, Rex," the man from behind said.

"You think so?" he said with a lethargic tone. He turned and faced the other man. "I thought I did a pretty good job of warning off the two shadows that was following her. Now that they know we are here, they're not going to be stalking her so carelessly, don't you think?"

The man stared at Rex for a moment with disgust in his eyes and then stared down at the woman lying on the floor. "And what about her? Why did she have to fall victim as well?"

Rex shrugged, his face a blank mask. "It's better this way. Now we can separate her from the lion without confrontation. I was making it easier for you, boss."

The man didn't take his eyes off of the unconscious woman. Although Rex was careless with his actions, he was right in saying that this had made things easier for them. They needed to separate her from her protector and they wanted to do it without the act of violence, because they didn't want her to see them in that light. If she did, she would never trust them. Even though kidnapping wouldn't gain her trust so easily either, the man was confident that this way would be better for them…and her.

"She'd better not be hurt in anyway, Rex. And that goes for the rest of the people in the crowd."

Rex stepped away from the woman on the ground to allow the other man to get to her. "She's fine and so is everyone else. Believe me, hurting her is the last thing I want to do. I want to avoid anything that would make you want to kill me, cause if that happened, there would be no way for me to win." He stared at the other man, and for a quick second, his eyes had amusement in them, and then it was gone. Rex walked away from the crowd without looking back. "I leave your precious Lucy to you, boss."

Rex was gone. The other man bent down and brushed Lucy's brown bangs away from her face. He couldn't stop staring at her, his heart throbbing without his consent. He allowed himself one moment of raw emotion, and then abruptly it was gone. His face blank and expressionless, and his mood changed back to that of business. They needed to take Lucy away from the town and away from the eyes of the shadows that they followed here. He picked her body up and carried her bridal style. Thanks to Rex, he knew that Lucy would be knocked out for a while, which made it easier for the two men to travel with her.

As he was walking out of the town following Rex, he glanced down at the sleeping Lucy. Ever so gently, he bent his head to her ear and whispered, "We finally meet, Lucy."

After those words left his lips, him and Lucy disappeared, turning into shades to be unnoticed.

* * *

A/N: I purposely left the other guy, who Rex calls boss, a mystery. You guys will find out who he is later! Again, R&R!


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Hey everyone! Here is another chapter update. This chapter leaves a lot of stuff unanswered and I know that might bug some of you. If you have questions, I have answers. Other than that, I hope you guys enjoy it. More to come. Please R&R!

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail does not belong to me.

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**Normal POV:**

Everyone was gathered around. Worried expressions masked all of their faces. No one knew exactly what was going on, but when they found their four comrades lying on the ground in front of the guild unconscious, they knew something terrible must have happened. But they couldn't get an answer directly because these four have been knocked out for a whole week now.

Different people would take shifts watching and caring for them, except the takeover siblings. They rarely left their little sister's side, maybe only to sleep but that was mostly Elfman. Mirajane refused to move, crying and praying that her sister would open her eyes and be unharmed.

Juvia sat by Gray's side, unmoving just like the takeovers because she couldn't believe someone would hurt her precious Gray. When she first saw him unconscious and sprawled out on the ground, she fainted thinking that he, along with the rest of his team, was dead. When she finally came to, she was informed that they were alive, but no one was successful at waking them from their state. At a lost for what to do, Juvia refused to leave Gray's side, even when one of her guild mates would tell her to go and rest or eat, she couldn't move. Love refueled her and made her determined to stay, so that when Gray finally woke, it would be her face that he saw first.

Wendy, Happy and Carla were back from their mission and were mortified to see their friends in such a state. Wendy checked them for wounds and tried to see if they were in any internal pain, but couldn't find the cause for why they were the way they were. Everyday she checked them and still she turned up puzzled. Happy cried at seeing Natsu look so weak and helpless. He cried seeing all of his friends look this way, and just like Juvia, Mirajane and Elfman, he didn't leave Natsu's side at all. He was a little confused as well, seeing someone missing from the group, but his worries and sadness overwhelmed his confusion that he didn't bother figuring out exactly who was missing.

Master was the most uneasy. Unlike the rest of the guild, he knew why Team Natsu left the guild and he knew that there was a strong possibility that they would face danger. When he saw his children unconscious in front of their home, he almost broke down. His heart pained, literally, and he wanted to find out who did this so that he could deliver it back 100 times fold. When Wendy couldn't find a reason for why the team was knocked out, he sent for Porlyusica.

She arrived the day after Team Natsu was found and aided Wendy ever since to figure out the problem. Unlike Wendy though, Porlyusica was a little more experienced with the magic world and all of its mystery and dangers. She didn't figure it out right away, but when she was confident that the team wasn't suffering from external or internal injuries, she realized that they suffered mentally. Something was keeping them trapped in their own minds, and if they didn't defeat whatever it was, they would be prisoners. She told Master to gather everyone in the hall so that she could inform them of her conclusions.

Everyone gathered, including Juvia, Happy, Elfman and Mirajane, even if they were a little more reluctant. There was thick tension in the air as everyone waited anxiously to hear what Porlyusica had to say. They knew that whatever it was, it wouldn't be good otherwise she would have just told them not to worry, and then she would have left immediately. For the simple fact that she stayed around them and then gathered them all together, they knew she was delivering bad news.

Master sat on the bar counter while Porlyusica stood next to him with her stern face directed to the guild members. "I asked Makarov to gather you all so that I could tell you what is wrong with your fellow guild mates." The guild was silent. They waited for Porlyusica to finish and as she looked at their faces, she could see that every one of them were concerned and eager. "They do not suffer from external or internal injury, which is a relief."

There were a few sighs of relief here and there and a few mutters of "thank goodness" and some of the tension in the room subsided. Not everyone was so relieved because that didn't explain what the hell was happening to Team Natsu. "That's great, but we want to know why they are unconscious," Mira asked.

The rest of the members stopped their mutters and focused back on Porlyusica, realizing that she was just giving them the good news. Time for the bad news.

Porlyusica closed her eyes and exhaled. When she opened them, the members could see genuine sadness and bewilderment in her eyes. They braced themselves. "Although they are not injured, I am afraid that they are still suffering. They are mentally suffering."

Gasps and mutters were heard throughout the room. Master looked at Porlyusica, and his eyes were wide, just like the rest of his guild. "What do you mean mentally suffering?" Cana asked.

"I am not sure, but it seems as though there is something mentally blocking them from awakening, and until they fight and overcome whatever it is that is trapping them, they might be stuck like this forever."

The guild was in an uproar. They couldn't believe what they heard. Juvia, Mira and Happy were crying with people trying to comfort them, but everyone was in disbelief. Porlyusica looked at Master and she saw how disturbed he was, but he tried to keep calm so that he could be the rock that his guild needed. She was very concerned for him because she knew that all of this bad news wouldn't be healthy for his heart, but she knew that he was stubborn. He would do anything for his guild, even at the risk of his own health and there was nothing she could do to prevent that.

There was a loud slam on a table, and Porlyusica turned to face the commotion. Everyone quieted down after seeing how angry Mira was. She was on the verge of a breakdown and her anger was rolling off of her body. "I refuse to lose my sister again," she said through her anger and her tears. "There must be something we can do to help them. I **refuse** for Lisanna to be lost to me again."

Everyone heard the seriousness in Mira's voice and all they could do was stare at Porlyuscica to see if she would reply to Mira. Porlyusica sighed and shook her head. "There is nothing that−"

"Don't give me that crap!" Mira shouted.

"Nee-chan…" Elfman tried to sooth his sister.

"Fairy Tail has always done the impossible, especially when it deals with our nakama. I won't just sit around here and watch my friends and my sister suffer without trying everything in my power to help them."

Mira's words pulled at the heartstrings of every member of Fairy Tail. What she said was right. Even when things got rough and seemed impossible, Fairy Tail never backed down. It was who they were and what made them unique as a guild. They couldn't sit around and wait to see what happens. They needed to help their nakama by any means necessary. They all looked determined and they showed Porlyusica, especially Mira, that they were not gonna back down.

Porlyusica sighed deeply, knowing that it was close to impossible to help Natsu and the others. She looked at Makarov for guidance, but his face looked determined too. No one was gonna get away with hurting his children, and she knew that he would be as headstrong as the rest of them. She sighed again and looked back at the gritty faces before her. "I will explain everything fully before you guys get all riled up. Your friends are in a battle in their minds."

She could see the confusion sweep across the room. "What exactly does that mean?" Wendy asked.

"I don't know the details, but it's as if they are in a mental battle for their lives. They have to fight their subconscious themselves. There is no way that any of you can go into their mind and help them through their tribulations."

Swear words and other mumblings were heard from the crowd. "So you're saying that there's absolutely nothing we can do? That's bull shit!" Cana yelled.

"I want to help Natsu and the others," Levy said.

"Juvia will not let Gray-sama be trapped forever. There has to be some way Juvia can help him."

"The only thing that might help them…"Porlyusica started saying to calm down the guild. At those simple words, everyone quieted and held their breath to hear how they could help. "…Is if you find the mages that casted this magic against them and force them to reverse the spell. But that might be impossible, even for Fairy Tail. This level of magic is astounding and Makarov, I know you have to agree. Only mages S Class and higher could pull something like this off, and I doubt that they can be taken out so easily. The best thing for you all to do is−"

"Porlyusica," said the master. Porlyusica turned her head to face the small old man and when she did, angry tears were swimming in his eyes. She knew that he was at his limit and he was about to blow. "I understand that we cannot help Team Natsu here. All we can do is pray that they will overcome their hurdles and come back to us safe and sound. But…" he paused. His speech and tears resonating through all of Fairy Tail as they waited for their master to finish his speech. "Who ever did this to them, will pay. Fairy Tail protects our own and if those miscreants think that they will get away with what they did, they are clearly mistaken." The passionate fire of retaliation spread from the master and out to his guild. Everyone roared in agreement and seemed determined beyond belief.

Porylusica rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine, Makarov. Do whatever you want, but I warned you. It's not everyday that I get nervous around such a level of magic. I know you feel that you have to do this, but you need to be prepared for the worst."

"Take a look around," Master said. Porylusica did as he said. "Every one of us knows the danger of what could happen. But if we let that stop us, we would disgrace Fairy Tail. You know that too, Porlyusica."

Porlyusica stared into Master's eyes and saw his raw emotions. This was what she loved most about him, but his stubbornness was going to get the better of him. "I know nothing, Makarov," she said and walked away from the crowd and headed for the infirmary.

"Master," Macao said. "How are we going to find out who did this? We don't even know where Natsu and the rest of them went." This was an important question and everyone was now thinking about that too.

Master sighed. He knew that now he would have to tell the rest of the guild why Natsu, Erza, Gray and Lisanna left the guild a little more than a week ago. He knew that most of the guild were probably thinking that the team took on a dangerous S Class mission or something along those lines, but he wondered how they would react if they knew the truth.

Before he could even speak a word of what was really going on, the doors to the guild burst open and a very distraught and weakened person came rushing through.

"Loke!" Cana exclaimed. The rest of the guild was distracted by the sudden appearance of Loke. He made it to the bar counter, but then collapsed on the floor. Gasps were heard and many of the guild members rushed to his side, all of them concerned and confused. Cana kneeled next to him and rested his head in her lap. Loke was breathing heavy and sweating profusely and his eyes were barely open. "Loke! Loke, what happened?" Cana asked.

Everyone waited anxiously. Loke tried to breath and calm himself, but he has been through hell trying to get back to Fairy Tail. "Master…" he began. "Lu…Lucy," he said, but then he passed out.

"Loke!" The guild was in utter shock. "Wendy, can you find out what's wrong with him?" Cana hysterically asked.

"I'll do my best," said Wendy. She bent over Loke and began checking him.

In the back of the crowd, a very confused Levy had her eyes widened in shock, not because Loke was collapsed, but because of what Loke said. "Lu-chan…" Levy whispered. _What happened to Lu-chan? _Come to think of it, she hasn't seen Lucy in a while, but she just assumed that Lucy was on another solo mission. Most of Lucy's solo missions were never more than two days long though, and it's been more than a week. Levy started to worry and she didn't know that she was showing it until a hard arm wrapped around her shoulder and pulled her close to someone's chest. When she looked up, it was Gajeel. He looked down at her, and she started to cry. "Gajeel, what happened to Lu-chan?"

"I don't know, Levy. I guess we just have to wait and find out." Levy wrapped her arms around Gajeel's waist and started to cry in his chest. Gajeel felt uneasy. Not only because of Levy's crying, but he felt that everything that happened to Natsu and the rest of the team, and now Loke and Lucy were connected. He had a bad feeling the night he saw Team Natsu gather away from everyone in the guild and he heard them talking about Lucy. He heard Natsu tell Lisanna that Lucy was gone, and he also heard the team coming up with a plan to go after her, but he didn't do anything. If he would have said something, then the whole guild would have found out and it would have been catastrophic. He was glad that Wendy was away on a mission, because she would have heard everything he did, and he wasn't confident that she would have contained herself from letting the guild know.

He felt bad for not telling anyone, especially Levy, but he didn't want to start an uproar without knowing all the facts. All he could do know was try and sooth Levy, and hope that Lucy wasn't in danger.

"I don't know what's exactly wrong with Loke. It's as if he's drained of all of his energy, but I don't know why," Wendy said to the guild.

"What does this mean?" Cana asked.

"He exhausted a lot of magic."

Everyone turned to face Porlyusica. She heard all of the ruckus from the infirmary and decided to see if she could be of any assistance. She looked at Loke gravely, and she knew that this was related to Natsu and his team. "What do you mean?" Cana asked.

"It seems that he used up a lot of his magical energy trying to escape the same fate that your other guild mates are suffering now. Somehow, he was able to break free of the mental block, but he paid a price. Also, it doesn't help that he's away from the spirit world, so he can't recuperate. Where's his wielder? His gate should be closed and he should return to the spirit world."

Everyone looked around, and for the first time since Loke entered the guild, they noticed that Lucy wasn't with him. They were so wrapped up with everything else that was going on that they didn't pay attention to where Lucy was.

"Where is Lucy?" "Shouldn't she be with Loke?" "Come to think of it, it's been a while since we've seen her, right?" The chattering started and everyone was at a lost to Lucy's whereabouts. "If Loke is like this after coming back, is Lucy okay?" Everyone started to panic. There were just way too much going on in such a short span of time, and they didn't know how to handle it.

"Everyone, please calm down. I have something very important to tell all of you." Master was very calm sitting on the bar counter. He knew that he had to tell the guild the truth, and now was a good time as any. Everyone stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "Lucy left the guild."

The silence of the guild was louder than their uproar. Every single face was wide eyed and shocked. After a while, some gasped, some cursed, some cried and it was apparent that everyone realized that they haven't seen the busty blond in a while. "Why? Why did she leave? I don't understand…" Levy said through her tears. She cried into Gajeel's chest heavier and he rubbed soothing circles in her back. Her best friend was missing and probably fighting the same mages who hurt Loke. Levy was overcome with sadness and worry, but all she could do was cry.

Mira's face looked solemn. She was in the room the night that Team Natsu first found out that Lucy left. Lucy wrote a goodbye letter to them, but Mira was so upset that she ran out of Master's office and didn't get a chance to find out why Lucy left. She cried for hours in the kitchen, and Master came and talked to her. He explained that Natsu and the others were going to find Lucy and bring her back, and he asked Mira to keep Lucy's disappearance a secret for now. Even though everyone came and found her crying and tried to ease her, she didn't tell a soul. She wanted to believe that Natsu would be able to find her, so she kept her mouth shut and put on a smile so no one would be the wiser. Now, all she did was cry into her hands while Elfman held her steady because her dear friend was out there fighting a foe that was dangerous enough to cause Natsu, Gray and Erza suffering, three of Fairy Tail's best mages.

"What do you mean, Master? Why did Lucy leave?" asked Wendy. She was trying to hold back her tears, but while Happy sat on the table next to her crying his eyes out, her own water works began.

"What's the meaning of this, Master? Is that why Natsu and the others left in the first place? What the hell is going on?" Cana ranted.

Master closed his eyes and exhaled. "Lucy did not express why she left, but she wrote a letter to her former team telling them goodbye." Muttering was heard, but it all stopped when Master opened his eyes. Everyone stared at him as they saw the pain in his eyes. "She didn't say, but we felt that she left because she was in danger, and she probably didn't want her guild to be in danger too. That's why Natsu, Gray, Erza and Lisanna went after her. It was to bring her home in the safety of her nakama. I never thought that the danger she was facing were mages with this much power. If Loke is here with us now, there is no telling what happened to Lucy." They all heard the raw emotion in his voice when the Master spoke. He was in pain at the lost of one of his own, and he had been ever since Lucy first asked him to leave.

Makarov jumped off the bar counter and walked over to where Cana held Loke. The master looked at the unconscious man and then balled up his fist. He turned and looked at the members with the most intense and intimidating serious face he could ever muster up. That was a face that meant serious business. "I've said this before. Those who mess with Fairy Tail will pay 100 times fold. We protect our own, so those who hurt our nakama will truly feel the wrath of Fairy Tail!"

Everyone sobered up their sadness and felt the determination and the drive to go after the bastards that hurt their friends. Master rose his right hand up in the air and extended his forefinger and thumb out, showing a backwards "L", and everyone roared, mimicking his action, showing that they were prepared for a fight.

Well, everyone but Porlyuscia. She closed her eyes and shook her head at the stubborn guild. When were they going to learn that some things were impossible? She walked over to Cana and said, "We need to get Loke in the infirmary. When he wakes, he might be able to tell us what's going on, but he needs his rest."

Cana nodded and looked for someone to help her. "Elfman," she called and the takeover mage left his sister's side, picked up Loke and carried him to the infirmary. Cana, Wendy, and Mira were right behind him.

Everyone else was gathering, trying to come up with ideas and plans to battle the mages who hurt their friends and to get back Lucy.

(*****)

After a long day of rest, Loke finally woke up and was surrounded by his friends from Fairy Tail. Even though he was awake, he was still very weak, so he stayed in the infirmary to get enough rest. When he woke up, he was informed of the guild's plans of getting Lucy back and getting even with the mages that put him and Team Natsu in comatose states.

He was actually shocked to hear that Team Natsu was suffering the same fate he did. He had no idea that they actually came after Lucy and he had no idea that they ran into the same mages. He didn't know exactly what was going on and a lot of things puzzled, bothered, and worried him. His biggest worry was not knowing what happened to Lucy. When he finally broke the mental block the mages put on him, he was in his room at Sunset Moon with Madame Petrovski taking care of him. He didn't know how he got there, but that's when he noticed that Lucy wasn't with him.

Madame Petrovski told him that she couldn't find his wife and she seemed very distraught. Loke almost lost his mind and rushed out of the hotel, against Madame's pleas to stay and rest, to find his master.

His journey was tough because most of his energy was spent. When he tried to see if he could close his gate on his own, that's when he discovered the second thing that worried him. The third thing that worried him was what he went through when he was unconscious. It wasn't just a mental battle, but he literally had to fight and overcome his worst nightmare.

Loke ran his hands through his hair in frustration as he thought back on all of the events he's been through. He was really pissed and he wanted to slay the assholes that took Lucy, but he didn't even know how that was going to be possible. And now when the guild needed his help, he didn't know how to tell them that the road they were about to step on was a dangerous one. He figured that they already expected danger, but they didn't know how dangerous it was.

He looked at the faces that surrounded him and he sighed. He didn't want any more of his friends to get hurt, so he got serious and decided to tell them everything. "Before I tell you guys anything, you have to make a promise with me."

His comrades looked confused. They didn't know what he was going to tell them, but he looked pained and serious. Loke directly looked at Master and waited for the old man's response. The master sighed and said, "What is it that you want us to do?"

"Promise me that you will not go off and challenge these people."

Everyone's eyes widened. What could Loke be saying? "Hell no, Loke. Look at what they did to you, to Natsu and the others. We're gonna crush those bastards and−"

"You have no idea what you're dealing with!" he said, interrupting Cana. He was dead serious and all Cana could do was gape.

"You're asking us not to fight, Loke?" Mira asked. He heard the pain in her voice and it tore at Loke's heartstrings. He knew that Mira and Elfman must have been suffering because their sister was once again in danger of being lost to them. He understood their pain because after all, his beloved master was lost to him, but they didn't know whom they were going up against.

He sighed. "Mira, I know how you feel, but you guys don't understand. These people…" he choked back his anger. "These people are no joke. I will not see any more of my friends get hurt and I mean it." He looked at Master with a serious expression.

Although everyone seemed to physically disagree with Loke's demands, he only waited to hear what the master had to say. Master pondered Loke's request and then closed his eyes. "Loke, I understand how you feel but−"

"No you don't, Master," Loke interrupted. "You have no idea how I feel. Lucy was right there with me to protect her. One minute we were standing hand in hand and the next, she was gone. I didn't even know what was happening and she was taken away from me without so much as a blink. I was supposed to protect her and I failed. You have no idea how much I hate myself for letting Lucy down."

His words tore at his guild mates. They could hear how much he hated himself and they still didn't know what happened. This left some people torn between going after the mages and finding Lucy or considering Loke's request. There were still those who were bent on retaliation and didn't care what the danger was. Loke didn't care about what they had to say. He only waited for Master to answer him because whatever the old man decided would be what the rest of the guild had to follow.

Master opened his eyes and stared at Loke for a minute. He could see the seriousness in Loke's eyes and he knew that he couldn't do anything but go with the decision he came up with. "I understand. We will comply with you, Loke." Master didn't have to look at the others to see that they were angry about his decision.

"What the hell, Master! What happened to making those mages pay? I can't agree with this," Cana yelled.

"Juvia also cannot agree. They hurt Gray-sama and Juvia will not forgive them."

"Master…" Mira whispered. Her eyes were closed and she was trying to hold back both her tears and her fury. "Why Master?" she asked gently.

The master looked at the pained and angry faces of his children. He knew that his decision would confuse and upset them, but he had his reasons. "I know that this is hard to accept, but Loke's request is something that I cannot deny."

"But I'm asking you why, Master! Why? After they did that to Lisanna, we're just gonna let them get away with it? Why?" Mira pleaded.

"And what about Lu-chan?" Levy asked. "We can't just abandon her."

Master held his expressionless face. He would not be wavered, but he knew what he was doing. "First, we need to know what we are dealing with. I agreed to not challenge those mages, but I never said that we would stop looking for Lucy. Who ever took her are the same people who hurt Natsu and the others, right? We will not be sending out a challenge for them, but most likely if they find out that we are searching for Lucy, they will challenge us. In any case, we will still have a chance to make them pay, but we will not go looking for them. We will make them come to us!"

The room was quiet as everyone was caught off guard. Master's plan was actually smart. Instead of actively searching for their enemy, they would focus their attention on finding Lucy, and eventually, their enemy would come for them. That's when they will deliver their payback.

Loke sighed. He knew that his guild was stubborn and this was as good as he was going to get. Everyone waited for him to talk. He smirked and said, "Fine. I guess I can't stop you guys, and if I were in your shoes, I would be as stubborn as you guys are." His smirk vanished from his face and a serious mask replaced it. "I guess I'll start at the beginning."

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A/N: Loke's story will be told in the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed. Please review. Remember, if I don't get feedback from my fans (whether it be good or bad), I will never grow as a writer.


	7. Chapter 7

**PLEASE READ THIS: **This is part 1 of Natsu's dream. I know that sucks, but his dream was really long. Things to remember: 1) What Natsu is going through in his dream may not be real, so don't kill me for some of the things you will read. 2) The battling in his mind does not mean a real battle with physical fighting. Natsu has to battle his inner turmoil in order to wake up. I know that I said that Loke's story would begin in this chapter, but I talked it over with my editor and she thinks that by giving you guys Natsu's dream first, it would build dramatic tension and draw you all in. I agreed with her. Please review! Without your feedback, I will not grow as a writer.

**Disclaimer: **Not the owner of Fairy Tail.

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**Natsu's POV:**

_I didn't really understand it, but when I opened my eyes, I was lying on the grassy floor of the forest. It was morning, but I don't really remember falling asleep. Come to think of it, I didn't remember much of anything after leaving the guild. I knew that Lisanna and I were a team and we were suppose to head out on a mission, but I didn't remember what we were doing or how we got here._

_I sat up from the ground and tried to remember exactly how I fell asleep. I tried thinking, but then my stomach growled and I couldn't concentrate on figuring out what happened last night. I needed food and if I was hungry, that meant Lisanna was too._

_I got up and looked around me to see where Lisanna was. For a moment I panicked because I couldn't see her anywhere, but when I searched for her behind a small pond that was hidden behind tall reeds, I saw her sleeping. She was curled up on the grass and was sleeping soundly. I decided that I didn't want to wake her until I found some food for us to eat, so I went ahead._

_There was a small river about half a mile away from where I left Lisanna, and it was stacked with a lot of delicious looking fish. I decided to go and catch the fish by hand. I took off my vest and sandals and wrapped Igneel's scarf around my head, and then splashed in the river. The water was cool and refreshing and the fish tickled my skin as they swam past me. I didn't want to stay in the water too long, and leave Lisanna by herself, so I caught enough to fish to feed the both of us and then left the energizing water._

_I got back to the spot where I woke up and started a fire to grill the fish. The smell made my mouth water in anticipation, and when they were done, I decided that it was time to wake sleepy head up to a delicious meal. On my walk to where Lisanna slept, I couldn't help thinking how nice it was to eat a meal with just Lisanna. It's been a while since we did that by our selves, probably since we were kids. It brought a small smile to my face, but something in me wasn't all together happy, and I couldn't get why. I shook my head and brushed whatever it was off. _

_I approached Lisanna and bent down to wake her. She was sleeping on her side, turned away from me, so I tried to turn her to face me and when I did, what faced me was a stone carved like Lisanna. I jumped away from the stone and when I did, it crumbled to dust and blew away from me. I had no clue what the fuck was going on and my heart couldn't stop racing. _Where the hell is Lisanna?!

"_Lisanna?" When I called her name and didn't get a response, I started to panic. I turned in circles to see every part of the forest, but there were no signs of her. I tried smelling her scent, but nothing. "Lisanna!" Yelling her name didn't get me anywhere either, but I didn't know what to do._

"_She's waiting for you."_

_The voice came from behind me and I turned to face whoever was there. _

_It looked like a shadowed figure wearing a cloak and its face was hidden from me. The figure didn't move at all. It just stood there as if it was waiting for me to make the first move. I didn't know what to do. It was obvious that he knew where Lisanna was, and usually I would have pummeled anyone who would threaten my friends, but for some reason his voice made me hesitant. His voice was so familiar and that familiarity troubled me, like I knew that if I fought this person, I wouldn't win. I didn't know why I felt that way, but for the first time in my life, I didn't dash first. "What do you mean she's waiting for me?"_

"_To find her. Only you can do that," the figure said._

"_Where is Lisanna?" I asked angrily. _

"_Now Natsu, why would I tell you where she is and ruin the fun?" he said smugly._

"_Fun? What do you mean? Where is she?" I got pissed. Flames danced on my hands and I was so close to losing my patience and bashing his face in. I didn't know what this person was talking about, but if he hurt Lisanna…_

"_Natsu, do you know where you are?" _

_That question caught me off guard. Why was he asking me this? "I'm in some forest. What's it to you?"_

"_Do you know why you're here?" he asked._

_This guy was truly pissing me off. Who the fuck cared why I was in this forest? All that mattered was finding Lisanna, and this asshole knew where she was. "Where. Is. Lisanna?"_

"_Do you want to find Lisanna that badly, Natsu?" he asked with that same smug tone._

"_Tell me where she is before I hurt you really bad."_

_The figure chuckled a laugh. "If you hurt me, how will you ever find her? Forget that…there's no way you can hurt me."_

_When he said those last words, his voice got deeper and I could tell that all jokes were put aside and he was getting serious. "You sure about that?" I asked. The flames that were dancing on my hands grew hotter the more I got angry, and I knew I couldn't take it anymore. I dashed forward to attack the bastard. I needed to find Lisanna and he was seriously pissing me off. If he wouldn't tell me willingly, then I guess I had to beat it out of him._

_I was getting closer to him, but he never moved. He never even wavered. I didn't care, I attacked anyway. I put everything into my attack and my fist was coming down on his face. He was foolish for not moving because he would be in a lot of pain, but something was wrong._

_When my fist should have made contact, the figure vanished. My fist hit a cloud of black smoke. I looked around to see where he went, and I couldn't see him. He was nowhere. I tried to listen to see if he was running or moving, but there was nothing. All I heard was the wind blowing the leaves in the trees. _What the hell is going on?_ I thought to myself._

_Then I heard his smug chuckle in the air. "See. I told you. You can't hurt me because I'm not really there, Natsu."_

"_Where is Lisanna?!" I yelled. I didn't have time for games. Lisanna was in danger and I needed to find her. Nothing else mattered._

"_Are you sure nothing else matters?" he asked._

… _How—how did he know what I was thinking? My eyes widened from the shock and I couldn't move. My flames were gone as well. How did he know that I thought that?_

"_It's simple Natsu. It's because I own your thoughts so long as you're here."_

_I still couldn't move. My heart beat faster from the shock that I was still in, as I tried to process what he was telling me. "What—what the hell do you mean?" I barely whispered._

_He chuckled. "I asked you earlier, didn't I? I asked you if you knew where you were. But since it's obvious that you don't know, I guess I'll tell you." His tone changed and got real serious. "You're in your own mind, Natsu."_

_My face paled. Everything this guy said or did just confused or shocked the hell out of me. "What do you mean my own mind?" I said to the air._

"_It's sort of like a dream, but not really. You're trapped in your mind and I bring out your inner turmoil. Things that I know you fear or you worry about, even feelings and emotions that you never knew you felt. I could even show you things that you have no memory of, or make you forget things most important to you or distort your own memories of events that happened in your life. I can destroy you in here and there would be nothing you can do. Dreams are fake, and the best part about this is that everything you'll go through here will be real, just not with your outer physical self."_

_I didn't know what he was talking about, but his tone told me that he was serious, and that sent chills down my spine. But what scared me the most was the fact that he was telling me all of this. Why did he tell me? If he never told me any of this, he could have caught me off guard with his tactics, but now I know what to expect. Did he do that on purpose?_

"_That's where you're wrong, Natsu. You don't know what to expect. Telling you about what's going on isn't going to change how I torture you. You still wouldn't be able to do anything and there's no where for you to escape."_

_That's what I feared. "So let me ask you something. What about Lisanna? Where is she?"_

"_That part I wasn't lying about. She is waiting for you to find her and save her."_

_My heart skipped a beat. Lisanna was somewhere I couldn't get to because I was stuck in a dream. I looked around me, knowing there wasn't an exit, but hoping that I would see something that would wake me up._

_The figure chuckled again. "Silly Natsu. What do you take me for? You think I would make it easy for you to wake up? You'll wake when I've had enough toying with you."_

_I got angry. "Why are you doing this? What do you want?" _

"_No. The question is what do you want, Natsu?"_

"_What are you talking about?" The minute I said those words, something moved from behind the tree that was right in front of me. I prepared myself to fight who ever it was that this guy was going to send at me, but when I caught sight of her, I froze. _

_Lisanna walked from behind the tree, a slight smile on her face. She looked at me, expecting me to say something, but I didn't know what to say. She must have seen me struggle to find words because she giggled her signature giggle and winked at me. "Surprise to see me, Natsu?" she asked me._

_As much as I was happy to see her, I knew that she wasn't really here with me. "You're not real, are you?"_

"_How you feel about me is real, so that makes me real here."_

_That startled me. _What did she mean how I feel about her? _This must be the shadow guy's trick. Even knowing that, I couldn't help but talk to her. Even if she wasn't real, she felt real and I didn't know how badly I needed to see and talk to her until she appeared. "I don't understand what you mean. How do I feel about you, Lisanna?"_

_She giggled. "You really are dense, huh Natsu?" Then she walked closer to me. I didn't move and didn't really feel the need to. Lisanna posed no threat, even if she wasn't real. She was my nakama and I trust her completely. She was standing so close to me, and then she reached out and took my hands in hers. She stared into my eyes and I stared into her big blue ones. "When I hold your hands or when I'm standing with you, how do you feel?"_

_I didn't know where she was going with this, but I thought about it. She was holding my hands and it felt nice. I never thought about it before, but her hands were really soft in mine. Her closeness to me made me feel warm. Not temperature wise, since I can melt a snowman, but made my heart warm. Not having Lisanna around for those two years was painful, but now that she was back, I had no intention of losing her again. That's how she made me feel._

_She stared at me patiently waiting for my answer. I held her hands and said, "You make me feel warm, Lisanna, and I don't ever want to lose you."_

_She smiled at me, and I couldn't help but smile back. Then she did something I wasn't expecting. She leaned in and kissed me. My eyes widened and I jumped back a little, gently letting go of her hands. "What are you doing, Lisanna?"_

_She looked confused. "I'm doing what my heart is telling me to. Isn't your heart telling you to do the same? Don't you feel the same way, Natsu?" _

"_Lisanna, I—" but what could I say? My heart felt warm around her, but I didn't know if it was telling me to kiss her._

_Her face went from being confused to being hurt. "Oh, I understand Natsu," she said. _

_I never liked seeing Lisanna look hurt or sad and it tore me up inside. I took her hands and squeezed them to reassure her. I didn't know what I was reassuring her of, but she needed the comfort. "Lisanna, it's not that I don't feel the way you do, it's just—"_

"_I was just hoping that after what happened between us that night, that you would finally open up to your feelings for me, Natsu. I know you were drunk but you still—"_

"_What…" What was she talking about? What happened between us? No more words left my lips as I stared at her in confusion._

"_Natsu," she said with a sigh. "I wasn't completely honest with you before. You know, about the day you came over to my house drunk." She looked away from me._

_I remembered what Lisanna told me. I went over to her house drunk and said some things out of the blue that made her want to move in with me. If she lied about that, what really happened? I was a little nervous to find out. _What did I do?

_Lisanna let go of my hands and turned to walk back over to the tree she came from. She looked at it for a while and the silence between us built a lot of tension. After what felt like forever, she turned to face me. "I guess I should tell you everything. You deserve to know." _

_My heart was racing. I had no clue what she was gonna tell me, but I had a bad feeling._

"_Natsu, you did come to my house that night you were drunk. I had to carry you to the couch to get you to calm down. That part is still true. But…" Her face got red and she looked down in embarrassment. "When I walked away to go to the kitchen to get you a glass of water, you grabbed my arm and pulled me to you and stared at me for a while before you…" She paused._

_I was anxious and I hated that her pausing made my blood pressure rise. "I what, Lisanna?"_

_She picked up her head and gazed into my eyes. "You kissed me."_

_My eyes widened. What was she saying? _I kissed her? _I couldn't believe it. This must be a trick. There's no way I would kiss Lisanna. "That can't be true," I whispered._

"_It is. You kissed me and then told me that I needed to leave. I needed to move on. It was clear that you wanted me to leave my siblings and be with you."_

"_No, Lisanna. That can't—"_

"_Why, Natsu?" she said, fury burning in her eyes. "Why can't that be true? Why would I lie to you? It happened, Natsu! Or don't you trust that I'm telling the truth?"_

_I saw the anger and embarrassment on her face. She was being serious, but this couldn't have been true. This must be the work of the shadow guy. He must be messing with my head. I just stared at Lisanna in disbelief. I didn't know what to say to her. What if this wasn't a trick? What if I really did kiss Lisanna? And if I did kiss her, why did it bother me so much?_

"_That's not all you did, Natsu," she continued, her facing growing red every second. "We made love that night too. After you kissed me, I asked Elfman to help me take you home. When we got to your place, I asked Elfman to leave so that I could take care of you. When we were alone, you forced yourself on me, but I let you. I couldn't refuse you, Natsu. Especially with the way I feel about you."_

_I couldn't breathe. My face paled and I looked at Lisanna, horrified. _

_This had to have been a trick. There's no way that shit would happen._

"_Why, Natsu? Why don't you believe her words?"_

_It was the shadow figure's voice. He must have been watching this whole thing between me and Lisanna. No, not watching. This was his doing. He was making Lisanna say those crazy things. _

"_I can prove that they're not crazy, Natsu," the shadow figure said._

"_What do you mean?" I said after I found my voice._

"_Remember I said that I can show you things that you don't even remember doing. I can show you your memory of that night if you don't believe Lisanna."_

"_You're lying!" I yelled. "You're probably twisting my memories around or making them up. No matter what you say, I won't believe you."_

_The shadow figure tsked. "True. I could be. I'll just let you be the judge then."_

_Before I could even protest, he appeared in front of me and put his hand on my head. Everything went black, and then my memory played in my head:_

(*****)

_**Lisanna laid right next to me on the bed. It looked like she was sleeping, but I looked closer at her face and it was blushing with lust and embarrassment. The look on her face stirred something in me and my groin hardened with just the sight of her. I couldn't take it anymore, and I kissed her passionately. Her eyes popped open and she stared at me, and I could see my hungry stare reflected off her big beautiful blue eyes. I needed her. **_

"_**Natsu, what are you doing?" she asked me, but I didn't need her to talk. I needed her to make her mouth work against mine, so I kissed her again, but this time it wasn't passionate. I kissed her ferociously so she could taste how much I craved her. My tongue danced in her mouth and I wanted hers to join in, and after a moment of hesitation, our tongues were doing the tango and her hands were fisted in my hair. **_

_**Even though I could have gone on kissing her luscious lips for hours without a care, I could feel Lisanna struggling for air, so I let her breathe while I trailed sloppy kisses down her neck, to the hollow spot between her neck and shoulder. I circled that sensitive spot with my tongue, allowing it to have a little fun there, and her response was a soft moan that was music to my ears. Her fingers tugged at my hair, which added to the pleasure and my hard-on got worse. My clothes were too tight on me, so I rose above her and took off my vest, and then removed my trousers, revealing a very long and juicy erection. I didn't give Lisanna time to be surprised as I began removing her gown. I tossed it on the ground and looked back at her. To my surprise, she wasn't wearing a bra, and her breasts were exposed for me to scrutinize. **_

_**The hunger inside of me rose and I couldn't help but grin at her plump, succulent breast, toys for me to play with. Her face flushed with embarrassment and she tried to cover her breasts with her arms. I growled and grabbed her wrists and held her arms above her head. I bent down to her ear so she could hear my command nice and clear. "Don't cover up what's mine to see, Lisanna," I whispered. Then I sucked on her earlobe and heard the most amazing sound in the world—Lisanna moaning my name. **_

"_**Natsu… maybe we should slow down…" is what I guess she said. I wasn't really paying much attention to her words as my teeth tugged at her earlobe, and then my tongue traced fire down her neck, to her collarbone, and then to her delicious breasts. I didn't want to hear anything from her mouth except sounds of pleasure, so I traced circles around her nipples. The symphonies of moans and sobs coming from her mouth caused my erection to jerk and seep out some juices without my permission. But that was how amazing Lisanna was. Just a mere moan had me on the brink of exploding. **_

_**I laced my fingers with Lisanna's and took her hard nipple into my mouth, practically swallowing it, and she screamed out. I enjoyed that sound, so I decided to torture her more as I bit into her nipple and tugged on it, then I licked and sucked the sting away. I didn't forget the other nipple, playing with it between my fingers until I decided to switch. Lisanna sobbed and moaned my name over and over again, still tugging my hair and smashing my face to her breast to allow me more access. **_

_**I ravished her, and when I was sure her nipples and breast where covered with my pleasure bites and strawberry kiss marks, she took my tongue in her mouth again. My erection begged me to enter her, and I couldn't ignore its demands any longer. I needed to remove her panties, but I wasn't gonna stop kissing her, so I did the most logical thing in a situation like this: I burned that shit to smithereens.**_

_**I put my knee between her thighs and my knee touched her hot and juicy core. The smell of her arousal seduced my nose and something possessive and almost demonic rose up inside of me and demanded that I take her right now. I broke our kiss and didn't waste any time plunging my shaft into her folds. She was so tight, that I almost lost it and burst right then it there. I held my position for her and me, so she could get adjusted to me inside her and for me to calm little Natsu so I wouldn't come in ten seconds. **_

_**When I felt that I could continue without worries, I pulled put of Lisanna and then plunged in again. My body took over as I thrust into Lisanna's sweet core over and over again, going faster and deeper every time. She was milking me with her tight folds, and I couldn't get enough of her feel. "Oh, Lisanna…" I groaned into her ears as I drove into her again and again. She clawed at my back, heightening my pleasure, and my dark possessive side demanded I make her mine.**_

"_**Natsu—Ah!... Natsuu! You feel so good, Natsu!" she moaned out loud. I pounded into her, filling her up with all of me. I felt her walls swell and my erection followed suit. I sped up the pace as I felt her folds squeezing me dry. Then we both climbed the tower of ecstasy and dove to the river of our defeat as we came together. **_

_**I released inside of her, and my possessive side smiled as I pulled my shaft out and saw my juices, mixed with hers, leaking out of her and onto the sheets. She really rocked my world. **_

_**I collapsed on the bed right next to her and pulled her in my arms. I held her tight to me, afraid if I didn't she would leave me. I had to let her know that there was no escape. "Lisanna?"**_

_**I heard the cutest "mhm?" as her reply. I could see on her face that she was exhausted and I grinned in triumph to know that I worked her body 'til she couldn't even move anymore. **_

"_**Lisanna, you belong to me." And then exhaustion overcame me and I fell asleep with her in my arms.**_

(*****)

_The shadow figure moved his hand from my head and I fell backwards on the ground. I was pale and was shocked and confused. I wanted to believe that he was some how making all of this up, but the sensations, my emotions, and even the way her body felt under mine was all too real. The only problem throughout that memory was her face. Lisanna's face didn't feel right being in that memory, but everything else felt real._

"_What do you think, Natsu? Did I make that up, or was Lisanna telling the truth?"_

_I looked up at the figure looming over me, and then I looked at Lisanna's anxious face. Seeing her face, after witnessing that memory, churned my stomach and I got up and ran to the pond not far from where we were standing. I knelt beside it and threw up everything from my stomach. Doing something like that…with Lisanna seemed wrong. I'm not gonna lie, Lisanna made me feel happy and warm, but I never had those kinds of feelings for her. Why would I do something like that to her?_

"_Am I that revolting, Natsu?" Lisanna said soflty, but sadly._

_When I was sure I was done puking, I wiped my mouth and stood up. I turned and faced her and saw her crying. I hurt her, and that didn't sit right with my stomach either. It was difficult looking at her, especially with those erotic images of her replaying over and over. I couldn't look at her. "Lisanna, you have to understand. I could never do something like that to you."_

"_Why not Natsu? Don't you love me?"_

"_Lisanna, you're a very important nakama to me, and I would do anything for you, but that…."_

"_Natsu—ever since we were little, I've loved you. I've loved you more than just a nakama. You've never felt that way about me?"_

_I just shook my head, trying to digest all of this._

"_Natsu, please look at me," she whispered. _

_I couldn't. All those images would pop into my head and I wouldn't be able to handle it. I didn't see her move, but she was in front of me, pulling my face with her hands so that I would face her, but I jumped from her touch and just shook my head._

"_Why can't you love me?"_

"_Lisanna—" _You're like a sister to me, _is what I wanted to say, but the words didn't leave my lips._

"_Is it because you love someone else?"_

_My heart stopped and my eyes widened. _Love someone else…

_Why were those words troubling me? Who else was there for me to love? Everyone other girl at the guild never caught my interest, and I never met someone on a mission that tickled my fancy…yet there was something in my chest that said differently. I couldn't figure it out, and that confused me more. _

"_If there is someone else Natsu, you can tell me. I won't get mad." She waited patiently for me to answer._

"_I—I don't know," was all I could say. I truly didn't know what this feeling in my heart was telling me, but if there was someone, I couldn't picture her face._

"_I see," she said. "Sorry Natsu. I guess my love will always be one sided." I heard the tears in her voice and when I looked up at her to try and ease her the best I could, she started to fade into ashes. _

"_Lisanna! Lisanna, what the hell? Lisanna!" I yelled and panicked as I saw my friend fade away into the wind. "What's going on? What did you do to her?" I yelled for the shadow figure to hear me._

"_You realized that you love Lisanna no more than a nakama, and you rejected her feelings. So, she left you. Part one complete."_

_Before I could question the figure about what he just said, I heard someone crying. I looked around and saw something move behind a tree to my left. I walked over to it and was about to peak behind, when the crying figure came from the tree and stared at me. _

* * *

A/N: Part 2 will be coming soon. If you have **anything **to say, say it in a review. I hope this part was good._  
_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Part 2! This is a treat to my awesome fans. I didn't want to make you guys wait for a week to get part 2, so here you guys go! Important notes: I got a PM a while ago from someone saying how they didn't really dig the grown up Natsu (the PM was way worse than what I'm relaying). Well, I figured that having a goofy and carefree Natsu+sex and all that jazz would be kind of weird. Also, he had to grow up, he's gonna be a dad! If you can't handle a grown up Natsu, feel free to not read my fanfic. It's fine with me (you know who you are). Constructive criticism shouldn't be hurtful to the point where I don't want to write anymore. Be critical, but with a purpose that will help my writing. Other than that, please enjoy part 2. Again, please review!

**Disclaimer: **Not the owner of Fairy Tail.

* * *

**Natsu's POV:**

_Angry tears burned streak marks down her cheeks, and her chocolate brown eyes were violent. Her blonde hair was swaying in the wind and the smell of vanilla and warm sunshine poured off of her skin, invading my senses. She hugged herself, wrapping one arm over her massive breasts and the other over her curvaceous hips. She was wearing a blue and white sleeveless shirt, blue miniskirt, black boots, and a brown belt with a whip on one side and a set of keys on the other. She was beautiful, and something about her was extremely familiar, and her angry crying face disturbed me way more than seeing Lisanna cry. _

"_So that's how it is, huh Natsu?" she asked. Her voice was like sweet honey, even though she was clearly angry. I couldn't help but be drawn to her._

_I wish I knew who she was. She seemed to know me, even though I had no memories of meeting her before. "How do you know my name?" I asked._

_If looks could kill, I would have been fileted right now. The woman looked so angry, it hurt. It pulled at my heartstrings and I wanted to kiss those angry lines from her face just to ease her…_

_Kiss? Why did I think that? I didn't know who she was, so why would I want to kiss her?_

"_You forgot all about me. How could you Natsu?" the woman cried. New tears streamed down her face, but they were tears of pain. I could hear how hurt she was. She put her hands to her eyes and cried into them._

_Without thinking, I walked over to her and tried to remove her hands from her face, but she moved her hands from me and stepped back. "Please," I pleaded, "tell me who you are? How do you know me?"_

_The woman stared in my eyes and I was lost in her beautiful brown orbs. Suddenly, I got a headache from hell that caused me to kneel down in front of her._

_Images that I didn't understand started swarming my head. They were images of this woman that I didn't know. Images of her smiling, laughing, being angry, being sad, crying. These images flooded my eyes and the pain in my head increased._

"_I thought that you would protect me now matter what, Natsu. If I were ever lost, you would search all of Earthland to find me. Why did you forget me? Why did you leave me all alone?" she cried._

_I was panting on the ground, trying to understand what all of this meant. Somehow, I knew this woman. My mind was showing me, my body was reacting to her, and my heart was racing for her. That told me that she was someone dear to me. Maybe the shadow figure erased my memory of her. He did tell me that he could do that, but why would he do it? If she was important to me, more so than anyone, including Lisanna, then why erase her from my memory?_

_I stood up, the pain in my head going down, and I looked at the beautiful blonde. I needed to know who she was and what she was to me. I needed to know if she was the 'someone else' that the fake Lisanna was talking about. Since being nice didn't get me anywhere, I decided to put my battle face on. "Who are you?" I asked straight forward. _

_I guess she didn't like my change of tone, because she crossed her arms and pouted, which made my heart skip a beat. That little gesture sent butterflies to my stomach, which left me thinking that this woman was someone very special. She turned her head away from me and said, "If you don't know, then I'm not telling you. Figure it out yourself, you jerk!"_

_She turned around to leave, and I knew that if she left, I would never see her again and I would never know who she was. I ran after her and grabbed her arm._

_The minute my skin made contact with hers, new images flooded my mind. Erotic images. Images of this woman under me, with such a sexy expression on her face, but her eyes held love in them. I could see my face through her orbs, and there was lust, hunger, and deep possessive love written on my face. I looked at her with eyes of a man who was deeply in love. More images flooded my head and they were images of me making love to this woman. Then I felt sensations all over my skin. The sensations were this woman's hands roaming my body, her lips kissing mine, her tongue dancing with mine, her folds surrounding my shaft. Just a slight touch of her skin brought on these experiences. _

_Then a memory played in my head: __**"… you belong to me."**_

_My eyes widened and I snapped out of it. That's when I realized that the woman was struggling to get away from me. Instead of letting her go, I wrapped my arms around her. She froze at first, shocked from my actions, and then let out a wail. "Get off of me Natsu! You don't deserve to hug me. You forgot about me. I don't want you to touch me. That's why I left the guild. You forgot about me and moved on, so I moved on to. Let me go!" She kept on yelling, but behind those angry words, I heard her longing for me. She was hurt, but deep down she didn't want me to let her go. __**I held her tight to me, afraid if I didn't she would leave me. **__She protested, but I smelled her welcoming for me. She wanted me to hold her, but the biggest thing was she wanted me to remember. _

_I wanted to remember._

"_Natsu, let go! I'm not kidding. Let me go!"_

"_No," I said firmly._

"_Why not? You left me for Lisanna, so go back to her."_

"_I never left you for Lisanna. I wouldn't know how to leave you."_

"_You don't even know who I am, so how could you say that?"_

"_Because my body and my heart only reacts to you. Only you," I whispered in her ear. _

_She melted into me for a moment, but then started struggling again. "I'll be fine on my own. I don't need you anymore," she said to me._

_My possessive side rose up and tried to dominate her. I couldn't let her go. Even if she said she didn't need me, something in me told me that I would never leave this woman's side. I didn't know why I felt that way, but I did. She was mine and only mine. __**I had to let her know that there was no escape. **__"You could say you don't need me, but I need you. You can't ever leave me. And if you do, I will not stop, until I die, to find you." The words that left my mouth were sincere. I meant every one of them. I may not have remembered her, but my heart still did, and I would listen to my heart telling me that this woman was mine._

_She sighed in my arms, stopping her struggles. She tilted her head towards me and I could see fresh tears streaming down her face. That sight tugged at my chest. "Why are you saying these things to me?" she whispered. She sounded so defeated. _

_I squeezed her tighter to me and laid my head in the crook of her shoulder. "I'm saying them because they are true."_

"_But why?" she cried softly._

"_Because—because. __**You belong to me**__."_

_Those words were like a key unlocking a flood of memories. Everything from the first time I met her in Hargeon, to bringing her to the guild, to the first mission we went on, to rescuing her from the guild that kidnapped her. Every single memory of me and her played back in my mind, even a memory I was too drunk to remember. But this time, instead of Lisanna, the right person was in my memory. I was making love to the right person. The person I loved beyond reason. The person I would fight for and search all of Earthland and then some for. The only woman who will ever be mine, because when a dragon slayer mates, they mate for life. She was mine._

"—_Natsu?" she called. _

_How I missed her voice. I hugged her tighter to the point she was gasping for air. I couldn't get enough of her. When I did let her go, I turned her to face me. She was red, from the lack of oxygen and from blushing, and my heart beat overtime. "Natsu, are you crazy? You could have killed me. What's wrong with you, let me go—"_

"_Lucy."_

…_She froze and just stared at me. "Huh?" she said with a shocked face._

"_Lucy," I whispered again. I grabbed her face between my hands, and didn't give her a chance to question or protest. I took her lips with mine. I kissed her with everything I had in me, and it still wasn't enough for me. I needed more. I didn't know how much I missed those lips of her, or her deep chocolate eyes, or her sexy voice, or curvy figure, or her big boobs. I missed her, and I didn't care if the Lucy in front of me was only there in my mind, it was better than not having her at all._

_I deepened the kiss, allowing her to taste my hunger for her. I craved her and I wanted, no, needed her to know that. She responded by kissing me back, and that made me very happy that she wasn't pushing me away._

_I broke our kiss and gazed at her. She looked me in the eyes and all I saw was love. "You remembered?" she asked._

_I leaned my forehead on hers and said, "My heart will never forget the most precious thing to me."_

_My forehead rested on hers when another memory came to me. It was the memory of reading Lucy's goodbye letter. Remembering that even when I wake up from this dream, she wouldn't really be there. That hurt my heart. The Lucy in my mind was great, but she wasn't Lucy. Even so, I had to hold on to whatever I had right now._

_Lucy moved her face from mine and she was smiling. "Thank goodness you remembered. Don't ever forget me. No matter how long it takes to find me, just please," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "always remember me and how you feel about me, because Natsu…" _

_I looked at her, waiting for her to finish, but then just like Lisanna, she started to fade away into the wind. "No! Lucy! Don't go!" I yelled and tried to grab hold of her, but her ashes slipped through my fingers. _

"… _I love you too," was the last words I heard from her before she was gone. _

"_Lucy!" I yelled, but it was no good. I stared off at the sky trying to see a trace of her, but there was nothing. I dropped to my knees, hurt, alone, angry that she was gone again._

"_She means that much to you?" the familiar voice asked._

_I looked up and saw the shadow figure standing a few feet away from me. My anger boiled up and without thinking, I ran to him, flames surrounding my fists, and attacked him. It was useless because my fists hit thin air, but I couldn't control the need to smash his face in. "Bring her back!" I yelled._

"_What purpose will that serve? She's not the real thing, you know."_

"_I don't care. Why did you make me forget her?" I turned to face the figure and he just stared at me, although I still couldn't see his face._

"_I had to test you, Natsu," he replied._

_That confused me. "Test me? Why?"_

"_It's simple. You see, I'm like a guardian. More specifically I'm Lucy's guardian."_

_I was stunned. "What do you mean?"_

"_My job is to protect Lucy, even from her own guild mates."_

"_What do you know about Lucy? She's safer with her nakama!"_

"_That's where you're wrong, Natsu," he said with a serious tone. "Being with her guild mates will eventually be all of you guys' demise, and that would kill her."_

_My eyes widened at what he just said. _Kill her? _"What—" _

"_Lucy had to leave in order to protect you and everyone else. It was the logical thing to do. But being alone, even with her spirits, is too dangerous. Especially in her situation. That's why I'm here. I know more about Lucy than you can imagine and I'm better equipped to protect her right now than you are."_

_I stared at him with anger in my eyes. "Where is she?"_

"_Why, so you can run off and find her? I can't tell you that right now."_

"_Why'd you put me through all of this? With Lisanna and then Lucy? Why did you do this?"_

"_It's like I said, I had to test you. I had to make sure that you're heart was certain of what you needed and that when you decided to find the right person, you wouldn't hesitant to choose which one to find."_

"_What are you talking about?" He was confusing me again. What he was saying didn't make sense._

"_It makes perfect sense, Natsu," he said. "In the beginning of all of this, Lisanna was lost to you. You were determined to find her no matter what, because she's important to you. Then she came to you and made you realize that, although she's important to you, the way you feel about her would not exceed that of a sister. It was hard rejecting her, but you knew that you would never feel the way she feels about you. And that's also why I made you forget Lucy. I needed to see if you would figure out why your heart didn't reciprocate Lisanna's feelings. I needed to see if the love you had for Lucy was real. When she appeared before you, even though you couldn't recognize her, your body and your heart responded to her. You acted almost possessive, something you didn't do with Lisanna. But that unknown woman was special to you, even if you couldn't remember why. That alone was enough prove that you deeply and truly loved Lucy."_

"_But that doesn't explain what you said earlier about choosing to find the right person. What did you mean?" I asked him._

"_After realizing your feelings for Lucy, if you were ever put in a situation where you had to choose to protect one of your precious guild mates or protecting Lucy, what would you do?"_

_I froze. Thinking about his question made my heart hurt. I cared about everyone in Fairy Tail and I would protect them no matter what, but Lucy meant everything to me. But why would I be put in a situation like that? Then again, things like that could happen and I would have to make a decision. _

_The shadow guy tsked. "Your hesitation is why you're not fit to protect Lucy, Natsu."_

_He was right. I hesitated too long, but I was torn. Most likely, I would try and figure out a way to save them both._

"_Unrealistic. Things don't work out that way. It's either one or the other," he said. _

_I couldn't think. There had to be a way I could save them both, but I couldn't see how._

"_If you can't figure out who it is you should save, then maybe your love for Lucy isn't as strong as I thought."_

_That pissed me off. I looked at him, sending daggers with my glare. "You don't know anything. Sacrificing someone else from my guild shouldn't test my love for Lucy. I vowed to protect everyone from Fairy Tail, and that's what I intend to do. I'd find a way to protect them both."_

_The figure looked at me and I didn't stop glaring at him. "I can see the passion and fire in your eyes, Natsu. It shows me that you're serious in what you're saying. I hope that if you ever do face a situation like that in the future, you prove me wrong and save everyone. But if you had to only choose one, I—"_

"_It won't come to that," I said sharply._

_The man sighed and said, "For Lucy's sake, I hope not, because she would do anything to make your decision easier for you…even sacrificing herself."_

_His words tugged at my heart because they were true. Knowing Lucy, she would sacrifice herself just to make sure that her friends were safe. I sweat dropped just thinking about Lucy doing that. It was ripping my heart out, and I couldn't breathe._

"_Now you understand, don't you," he said. "That's why I told you before not to continue your journey to find Lucy. Everything would be easier if you just stayed away from her."_

_I was surprised. "What are you talking about? I never met you before now."_

"_Yes Natsu, you have. I met you in a forest just like this one, while you and Lisanna were trying to search for Lucy. The reason you might not remember is because I permanently removed that memory from your mind."_

_My eyes widened. "Why would you do something like that?" Why would he take a memory from me permanently? _

"_I had to. You were too close to Lucy. If you would have travelled any further, there's no doubt in my mind that you would have crossed paths with her, so I removed the forest and how you got there from your mind."_

_That explained things. When I first woke up without knowing that this was all in my mind, I had no knowledge of how I got in this forest. _

"_The only thing that I wanted you to remember from our first encounter was realizing that you were in love with Lucy, hence me testing you."_

"_But why did you need me to realize that?"_

"_Because if you didn't realize your love, in the long run you would hurt Lucy, and it's my job to protect her."_

"_Why? Who are you? What do you want from Lucy? Why are you the one protecting her when you don't know her?"_

"_I've explained this to you before too. Who and what I am doesn't matter right now. All I want from Lucy is her safety, especially in her delicate situation. Being with you and your guild will only make matters worse. And before you ask me what it is that I am talking about, when you wake up, the dangers will be explained to you and your team."_

"_Explained to me? What dangers?" I knew Lucy was in danger. "And what about my team?" It just dawned on me that if I was in a state like this, that must mean that Erza, Gray and Lisanna were also in the same state. "What did you do to my team?"_

"_They're safe. Just like you, they must deal with their inner turmoil. But unlike you, they don't have the luxury of knowing that what they are facing is only in their minds. And unlike you, I'm not there explaining things and talking to them. They must face whatever it is they are facing alone. You were different."_

"_Why?"_

_He hesitated before saying, "You're just different."_

_I knew that he wouldn't explain further, so I let it go. "Now, what dangers is Lucy facing? Tell me," I said seriously._

"_Like I said, when you wake up, it will be explained to you. Even though I put you through uncomfortable situations here, believe it or not I'm on your side."_

_What he just said sounded familiar, but how could someone like him be on my side?_

"_It's true. I told you that before as well and I wasn't lying."_

"_But what you did to me—"_

"_As rough as it was, it served its purpose."_

"_And what about what you're doing to my friends? If you were on our side, you wouldn't torture us like this."_

"_I understand you may see it that way, but it's my delay tactic."_

_I was puzzled. "Delay tactic?"_

"_I needed to distract you guys long enough to move Lucy. Doing things this way was the only sure way to delay you long enough. The minute you guys prove to me that no matter what I throw at you, you can handle it is when you guys will wake. I know it sounds torturous, and it is, but it's my best, most effective strategy."_

"_Will we be harmed by what you're doing to us?" I asked._

"_What you all are going through is draining your magical energy. Your bodies are trying to escape this dreamlike world, but I won't let you until I feel you're ready. You won't be harmed, but you won't be able to move for a while. You'd be too exhausted."_

"_Will we remember what we've faced in our minds?"_

"_No because if you do, you'd also remember details you've gathered that can lead you to Lucy's whereabouts, and I can't have that. Now I need you to trust me and leave Lucy to me. She's in good hands."_

_I looked at him as if he was crazy. "Why would I trust you with the most precious thing to me? Who do you think you're talking to?"_

_The shadow guy just stared at me, and then he slowly took a step towards me. I didn't know what to expect, so I prepared myself. He took another step and then another until he was two feet in front of me. _

"_If you continue on this path Natsu…" he began. Then he lifted his hood a little from his face and it startled me. Big dark onyx eyes stared into mine, and the look in his told me that he was dead serious and his words were not to be fucked with. But what scared me the most was what he finished saying. "She will die." He covered his onyx eyes again with his hood and moved away from me. _

_I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't let Lucy die. But I couldn't stop looking for her either. "I'll never stop," I said._

"_Then she will die."_

"_I'll never let that happen either, and if you were on my side, you would know that I would search nonstop for her." The fire in my stomach roared with my dark possessive side. This guy could say what he wanted, but I'd rather die than give up on Lucy._

_I heard him chuckle a "hmph" and then he said, "Alright. Have it your way Natsu. When you wake up, you won't remember anything from here, except your love for Lucy and your drive to get her back. Everything else will be gone."_

"_What about my memory of my night with Lucy?"_

_He laughed. "Of all the memories you should be worried about, that's the one you're more concerned with?"_

_Of course that memory would be the one I asked about. I knew that he wouldn't allow any other memory to stay, but since I knew what happened between me and Lucy, there was no way I was giving that up. I wanted to always remember us consummating our love. _

"_Unfortunately for you, that memory was buried in your mind, so even if you keep it, when you wake up you wouldn't remember it. But it will always be in your subconscious, so if something were to trigger it, you might remember."_

_That was a disappointment, but it was as good as I was gonna get. "So when I wake up, I wouldn't know that I made love to Lucy, but I would know that I'm in love with Lucy?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Then that's fine. Just don't take that memory away."_

"_Fine," he said, and then he got serious. "When you wake up, the situation going on will surprise and might upset you, but you proved to me that you can handle it, no matter what it is. So wake up, Natsu. Your friends need you…"_

(*****)

* * *

Everything went black and I felt like I was falling. My body felt heavy and my breathing was ragged. I tried to clear the fog from my mind, but everything was blank.

I needed to open my eyes, but my lids were too heavy. I tried listening to see if anyone was around me.

"Why were they giving her ten months before they go after her? That doesn't make any sense." That was Levy's voice. People must be in the room, but who were they talking about.

"Yeah, it doesn't. If they wanted her so badly, shouldn't they have gone after her immediately instead of giving her a chance to escape? And if she had all of this time before the guild took her, why didn't she tell us? Ten months is a lot of time to come up with a battle strategy. We'd be ready for them in ten months."

I recognized that loud and angry voice. That was Cana. Who was she talking about?

"It's not as simple as you guys are making it." That was Loke. If Loke was here, then where was Lucy?

I fought to open my eyes. If Loke was here, then Lucy might be here too. I needed to see for myself, but my eyes were like lead.

"Then what is it, Loke? Why did she feel the need to hide from us?" Cana asked.

"To protect you guys, but most importantly, to protect herself. You guys would fight until you died if that meant protecting her, and she knew that. She didn't want that, especially in her situation now. You guys would go crazy protecting her now, and she didn't want to put any of you in danger," Loke said seriously. Was he talking about Lucy? I tried to open my eyes again.

"What are you talking about, Loke?" That was Mira. "Is Lucy in more danger? What situation are you talking about?"

They were talking about Lucy, which only meant that she wasn't here. Where was she, and why wasn't Loke with her?

"Yes, Mira. She is in more danger because…"

That bastard, Loke! How dare he leave Lucy alone? If I ever got my eyes open, he was gonna seriously get it.

"Because what, Loke?" Mira asked.

"Because Lucy's pregnant."

My eyes flew open and they searched through the crowd of faces to find Loke. When they did, they bore holes in him. "What—what did you say?" I managed to ask, although my voice sounded hoarse.

Everyone who was in the room looked at my direction and gasps could be heard, but I didn't care about them. Loke looked at me and he seemed nervous. We stared at each other while the other guild mates came over to me to see if I was okay. I ignored them all.

"What did you say, Loke?" I repeated myself.

* * *

A/N: Those bold lettered words that Natsu was thinking were all memories of the night he made love to Lucy. Anything you have to say, say it in a review. Loke's part coming next chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Okay guys, here is the next chapter! I had this chapter done for awhile, but since I uploaded two chapters last time, I figured that I'd make you guys wait for this one. This chapter is Loke's story before Natsu wakes up. I hope I don't confuse you guys. So with out further ado...

Please R&R...as I always say, I will never grow as a writer if my fans don't help me along the way with their critique (whether it be good or bad).

**Disclaimer: **Not the owner of Fairy Tail...yet

* * *

**Normal POV:**

Everyone had their eyes on Loke, patiently waiting for him to tell them what was going on.

Loke sighed. "It started the day the new Team Natsu went on their mission. I don't really know all of the details. I was really busy in the Spirit World, but I can always feel when Lucy is in trouble or when she's disturbed. That day she was very disturbed, to the point where I had to leave the Spirit World on my own. When I appeared in front of Lucy, she was already at the train station, waiting for the train to come. She looked different."

That last statement confused people. "What do you mean she looked different?" Cana asked.

"Her appearance, she changed it. Her hair was cut to her shoulders and it was dyed brown. I guess she asked Cancer to do it to disguise herself, so that no one would recognize her, especially you guys."

Some of the guild mates gasped. They didn't understand why Lucy would go through so much length just to get away from them. She should know that she would be safer with them, but no one said a word. They waited for Loke to finish.

"When I saw her, I knew she was in danger, but I knew the danger had to be far worse than I expected, otherwise she wouldn't have left the guild. I wanted her to tell me everything, so I asked her if leaving was what she really wanted to do. I thought that if I asked her that, she would tell me everything, but I guess she assumed that I knew what was going on and just said, 'What choice do I have.'"

Loke's face got really serious. Recalling what she said to him that day pained him. He knew that he would have to leave some details out until the end, or else things would get more complicated.

"She said that she couldn't tell anyone in the guild what's going on otherwise they'd be killed. She didn't know who or what those guys were except that they seem to read who people are from touching them, and they can turn into shadows. She was afraid that they could be watching her at any moment, and that leaving the guild was the best way to protect all of you," _and her child, _Loke thought those words to himself.

Loke paused as he saw his guild mates become antsy. He could tell that they were troubled at the thought of Lucy not turning to her guild for help.

"How could she think that?" Mira said. "Wouldn't it be better for her to tell us so that she could be protected?"

"She was terrified, Mira," Loke explained. "I still didn't have all the details about the people coming after her, but I could tell that she didn't want any of you guys to get hurt."

"But didn't Lu-chan realize being alone was more dangerous?" Levy asked.

"That's why I decided to stay by her side in order to protect her." Loke looked down at his hands on his lap and became pained. He balled the sheet covering him in his fists and mentally cursed at himself. Although he promised to protect her, he was hopeless against whoever took her. He blamed himself for allowing that to happen and he would never forgive himself if Lucy got hurt.

Cana, who was sitting by Loke's side the whole time, took one of his balled fists in her hands, and tried to soothe Loke. She knew that he was beating himself up about Lucy, and she didn't like seeing her friend and ex-partner this way. "Loke, it's all right. Just finish telling us what happened."

Loke looked up at Cana's calm face and was appreciative for her attempt to soothe him. He nodded his head and then continued. "I didn't know who we were facing, but I knew no matter who it was, they wouldn't be able to kill me, so I was never gonna leave Lucy's side. Before we boarded the train, Lucy thought that it would be a good idea to change her name, that way no one would suspect who she was."

"Lucy changed her name?" Mira asked.

"Yes, to Lola. Lola Crescent. Even though I'm sure it doesn't matter now, since whoever took her clearly knew who she was, but I figured it's best to tell everyone just in case."

"That makes sense. Disguising her appearance wouldn't be enough, so Lu-chan had to leave her name behind as well," Levy thought out loud.

Loke nodded. "It was tough for her, but she needed to leave everything behind. We boarded the train and left Magnolia for good. Lucy cried for the first few hours on the train and all I could do was hold her. My heart broke listening to her, but there was nothing else I could have done. She chose to leave, even if it killed her inside."

The room was quiet and a few members' hearts broke hearing Loke talk about Lucy being miserable for leaving her home. They had to find comfort in each other in order to keep from crying themselves, or leaving the room without hearing everything Loke had to say.

"After a few hours, Lucy couldn't cry anymore and that's when I thought it was my chance to get her to explain everything that was going on. That's when she realized that I didn't know why she was leaving. She turned to me and told me everything."

The room got tense, as people readied themselves to hear what Loke was about to say.

"Lucy told me about a letter she received from a man named Black Raven. He said that him and his guild, called Shadows of Darkness, wanted Lucy for her magic. Apparently, her magic is important for some plan they have in mind because she's a Celestial Mage. When she told me this, I assumed they needed her magic because it's connected to the Spirit World, and Spirit magic is very powerful, and very dangerous in the wrong hands."

"But what plan could they have where they would need Lucy's magic?" Wendy asked.

"She said that they never explained their plans, just that she was a vital part of it."

"That doesn't make any sense. Why chase after someone without letting them know why?" Mira said.

Elfman took his sister's hand and tried to calm her. "Nee-chan, let's let Loke continue," he said soothingly. Mira looked at him and calmed herself. Lucy was like a sister to her, and she hated all of this, but she didn't like losing her temper, so she listened to her brother.

Loke continued. "They didn't tell her much of anything except that she was important for their guild and that there was nowhere for her to run. They also warned her not to tell Fairy Tail, otherwise Fairy Tail would see their demise."

The guild was restless. Loke could see that they didn't take that last statement so well. Master looked stern as well, not liking another guild threatening his and making one of his own leave her home. But what worried him more was this guild that was after Lucy. Something about them seemed dangerously familiar to him, and that wasn't good. He looked to his left and saw Porlyusica's face. She had the same stern look, and she looked like she was contemplating something as well. Master let it go for now, and turned his attention back to the guild members.

"Wait, there's something that's been bugging Juvia," said Juvia. "How did Lucy know that the guild could tell who a person is just by touching them?"

The guild agreed with Juvia, questioning this themselves.

"She knew that because she bumped into two of their members before they gave her that letter."

"When?" asked Cana.

"The night of new Team Natsu's party and the next day before finding the letter in her house. After she told me all of this, I knew that our lives would be difficult, especially on the run. There were two things she decided that she felt would make our lives easier. The first thing was to give me her keys."

"Why would Lu-chan give you her keys? Aren't they important to her?" Levy asked.

"Because the dark guild wants her magic, she felt that if they ever did get there hands on her, it would be better for her not to have the gate keys to the Spirit World, in case that's what they were really after. At first I didn't like it either, but I thought it over. If they were to come after me for the keys because Lucy didn't have them, I could always take them with me to the Spirit World where no one can take them. They were safer with me than with Lucy at the time."

Levy nodded her head in agreement and let Loke talk.

"The second thing was to get far enough away from Magnolia. We knew that we would not be able to stay in a place for too long, so we decided that no matter where we go, we wouldn't stay there longer than a month. Our first stop was Cinder Village. Lucy picked that town because it's ten hours away by train, and if you guys were gonna one day come after her, she could be on the move and always be ahead of you. When we got there, we found a hotel where we stayed for one night. It was nice, and Madame Petrovski, who was the owner of the hotel, was really nice to us," _not at first, _Loke thought to himself with a grin.

"The next day was a different story," Loke said, getting serious again. "Lucy wanted to walk the streets to get some fresh air, even though I had a bad feeling about it, but she was gonna go with or without me. We walked the town and it was lively. I could tell it made her nostalgic for Magnolia, but she didn't look too sad. In fact, she was enjoying herself." Loke looked at Levy and smiled. "Lucy saw a book vendor and bought you some books. She was gonna send them after she read them, but I guess she still has all of them."

Levy smiled sadly and clutched at Gajeel's shirt to steady herself. She wanted to cry so badly, but she had to be strong, if not for herself, then for Lu-chan. Gajeel put his hand on Levy's and soothed circles on the back of it. He knew any moment she could break, and he just wanted to comfort the small blunette as much as he could.

"Actually, I think she was gonna buy small things for everyone and send it back here, but we never even made it to any other vendors. It happened right after that," Loke said. His face fell as he recalled the last moments he had with Lucy before she disappeared. "We stop in front of this magic show that was happening and Lucy seemed to be enjoying herself. The show was exciting, and it was also sentimental. We watched it until the end, and then all of a sudden, a very high pitch sound started ringing in my ears. The sound hurt so bad that I couldn't even stand up."

The guild members were shocked. Master and Porylusica looked at Loke with troubled eyes. Something about all of this seemed oddly familiar to them, but they couldn't put their fingers on it. They stayed silent until Loke told the guild everything, so they could figure out who they were really dealing with.

"I was on the ground within seconds, and I couldn't even look up to see if Lucy was hearing the same sound and feeling the same pain as me. When I tried, I fell unconscious. The next thing I remember was standing over a grave. I didn't understand why I was there or how I got there, but there was a grave in front of me." Loke looked as if he was in a lot of pain as he recalled his memories. "The name on the grave was Lucy's"

Every eye in the guild widened with utter shock. No one understood what that meant, and a few people gasped, and a few tears rolled down some faces before they even heard the rest of what Loke had to say.

"I kept hearing a voice in my head telling me that it was my fault that Lucy was dead. I killed her like I killed Karen. The voice was telling me that Lucy was tired of depending on a weak spirit like me and decided to face life alone. She was killed because I wasn't there to protect her. The only thing in my entire life that scares me the most is Lucy dying because I was unable to protect her. I couldn't believe she was dead."

Unknowingly, tears started to burn Loke's cheeks as they made their way down his face. Seeing that grave took his breath away and ripped his heart out. It was worse than hearing when Karen died because Lucy was a better master, and she genuinely cared about her spirits. Loke truly loved her for her kindness and her strength. If Lucy ever died because of him, he already made the decision to leave the Spirit World so that one day, he could follow her.

Cana squeezed his hand with hers, feeling her own tears springing to life. Mira held onto Elfman, silently crying, Levy left Gajeel to put her hand on Mira's shoulder to soothe Mira and herself, Wendy and Juvia held each other sadly, while everyone else stayed pin drop quiet to hear Loke.

Loke squeezed back Cana's hand, trying to pull himself together. He took his free hand and wiped his tears away, and then he faced his friends and continued. "Days went by, and I couldn't find myself leaving that grave sight. I just couldn't. And the voice kept talking to me in my head like a record. Then something dawned on me," his face got serious. "Lucy would never think any of her spirits were weak, not even Plue. We all have something to bring to the table, so she would never abandon us. When I realized that, a shadow figure appeared behind me. I couldn't see its face, so I didn't know who it was, but the last thing I remembered before waking up in the hotel with Madame Petrovski, was the figure telling me that no matter how worthy I prove as an opponent, he would never leave his Lucy in the hands of someone like me."

As much as the guild was relieved that Lucy's grave was all part of Loke's dream, they were confused about what the figure said regarding Lucy. "His Lucy?" Cana asked.

"That's what he said. When I woke up, I felt drained, like I battled someone for hours. I couldn't remember anymore of the dream, but after hearing what Porylusica said about breaking a mental block, I figured that I did battle that shadow figure in my dream. I guessed that maybe he was testing me to see if I was worthy of protecting her. That whole dream probably was a test to see if I could handle Lucy's death or to see if I could suspect when something isn't right. Although I don't know for sure, I have a feeling that what I've guessed is exactly what happened."

"So if that figure was testing you, do you think that's what he's doing to Natsu and the others?" Wendy asked.

"It could be, but I'm not sure. We'd have to wait until they wake up to know for sure." Loke looked at his unconscious mates and hoped that they weren't suffering as bad as he was.

"But why was he testing you? If they were after Lucy, why would they need to see if you could better protect her? That doesn't make sense," Freed said from behind the crowd. Everyone turned to look at the green haired mage as they turned his question over in their heads. It was true. It didn't make sense. If they already had Lucy, why would they care if her nakama could protect her?

Porlyusica looked down at Makarov from her peripheral view and saw that he was contemplating something. She wondered if he was thinking the same as her.

Loke considered Freed's question and didn't really have an answer. He never thought about that before. "I can't say why he was testing me, but like I said before, I was just assuming that's what he was doing. It could have been something else."

Freed didn't say anything else, but he knew that something was odd. Loke's assumption was fairly plausible, which made Freed confused as to why the shadow figure cared. He kept silent though and blended back into the background.

"After I left the hotel, I knew that I didn't have enough strength to look for Lucy on my own, so I made the choice to come back to Fairy Tail. I needed all of your help, but I had no idea that Natsu and his team came after us. I didn't want you guys to go looking for a fight with the dark guild because who knows what will happen, but after seeing them like that, I can see why you want pay back." Loke sighed, knowing his guild wasn't going to listen to him. "They're dangerous," he lastly said.

Cana held his hand firmly and said, "We know, but what choice do we have?"

"But that guild troubles Juvia a little," said Juvia.

"What kind of mages could touch people and know all about them?" Levy asked.

"And turn into shadows…" said Juvia.

"And mess with people's minds?" asked Cana "Just who exactly are we dealing with?"

"Shadow Mages." Everyone turned their heads and looked at Porlyusica. "They're called Shadow Mages, and they are very rare."

Everyone was confused and Master sighed heavily. Now he understood what kind of danger Lucy was facing.

"What are Shadow Mages?" Wendy asked.

"Their mages that use very dark lost magic. I've only known of two people who could use this magic, but I had no idea that there were others," Porlyusica said.

"Who are these people?" asked Cana.

"Cain and Dante. They're twin brothers," said Master.

The room was silent as everyone was stunned, looking from Porlyusica to Master. Porlyusica exhaled harshly and looked at Makarov. "Now you understand the severity, huh Makarov? This is far too dangerous and I would advice you to warn your guild before you all end up dead. I'm shocked they let these five off so easily. They might not be so easy next time." Porlyusica left the infirmary, not caring to hear a reply from Makarov. She knew that even though the people they were facing were extremely dangerous, Fairy Tail would still go forth. She couldn't stay around to see them make a foolish choice.

Master watched as Porlyusica left the room. He knew that she was worried, and to be honest, he was worried too. Things just got worse.

"Who are these guys, Master? They must be bad news if you and Porylusica are acting this way," Macao said.

Master looked back at his family and sighed. "Cain and Dante are two of Earthland's most dangerous mages. Just like most dark mages, they wish to take over the world. The lost magic that they use is extremely dark. People who go against them never see when they strike. It's like they blend in with the darkness, hence the name Shadows. But their magic is far more worse than that." Master paused to pull his thoughts together. He knew that telling the rest of his guild the truth about the brothers would frighten them, but they had to know everything so they had clear knowledge of who they were dealing with.

"What can be worse?" asked Loke.

Master closed his eyes. "It took me and my old team everything we had to escape them, and it took us weeks to recover from the damage. It's near impossible to defeat them."

Gasps were heard throughout the room. The guild couldn't believe what they just heard. Master, as strong as he was, couldn't even defeat this enemy? Just how strong were these guys?

"Even though they use the same magic, they have their own techniques. Just like Loke said, Cain is able to touch a person and know the shadows of their past and their present. He can also know what type of magic a person uses, which helps him build up an impenetrable defense. The worse part about Cain is his attack technique."

Master opened his eyes so that his guild could see the seriousness of what he was about to say. "He makes you fight a shadow of yourself."

Everyone was speechless as their eyes widened with the horror of what they just heard. Master looked at their faces to see if they understood the gravity of what he just relayed to them.

"What—what exactly does that mean?" This time, it was Elfman who asked the question. Everyone was anxious to hear the Master's answer.

"It means that he makes you fight a mirror image of yourself. Everything that you know, even the magic that you use, the shadow you can use too. It's the perfect, solid defense. What better person to fight than yourself? The shadow knows all of your greatest strengths and your greatest weaknesses. Like I said, my old team and I barely escaped with our lives. We only had a chance because Dante spared us."

"What do you mean Dante spared you? I thought he was working with his brother," Loke said.

"Yes, that's true, but unlike Cain, Dante still has morals I would like to believe. He could have let Cain kill us and walk away, but he didn't. He helped us."

"Helped you how?" Loke asked.

"He came to us in our minds and told us what to do."

That stunned everyone. "I don't understand. What are you saying, Master?" Cana asked.

Master looked over to where Natsu, Lisanna, Gray and Erza were resting. Now that he thought about it, there was only one explanation for why they were in the state they were in. He smirked a little and then faced the rest of his guild. "Cain's magic is incredibly strong and just like him, Dante is powerful as well. Dante has the ability to know all about a person as well, but by visiting the shades in their minds through dreams. He can also talk to a person using telepathy, both of which Cain can't do. But unlike Cain, Dante can't form shadow clones of people, and I'm not sure exactly what his attack techniques are. But…" Master paused to look at Team Natsu again and then at Loke. "I think I have an idea what it might be."

Loke widened his eyes, as he understood what Master was getting at. The rest of the guild was restless, as they were left in the dark on what Master was thinking. "What? What is it?" the guild practically said in unison.

"He attacks his opponents in their dreams," Loke guessed.

The guild was surprised and Master just nodded his head in agreement. "That is what I am guessing too, Loke. This explains what happened to you and Team Natsu. Cain attacks physically while Dante attacks mentally. The high pitched sound you heard in your head before you collapsed is also a very powerful attack move that Dante can do that would give him an advantage on his opponents. By attacking people in their dreams, he damages their psyche and leaves them feeling beaten and exhausted as if they fought him physically. Personally, I feel that Dante is in some ways more powerful than Cain, but Cain's malice is much stronger than Dante's, which is why he is the dominant of the two."

"But that doesn't explain why Dante spared you," Loke said.

"Well, like I said before, Dante has morals. He came to me in my mind and told me that the only way to beat myself is if I best myself, which meant that I had to out think my own moves and out match my own strength. It's easier said than done, which is why we barely made it out alive. The best part about it was that Cain had no idea that his brother helped us. Who knows what he would have done if he knew that Dante betrayed him. That was almost half a century ago, and Cain and Dante would be as old as me, but they might be still as powerful as they ever were."

"Why did you fight them last time, Master?" asked Macao.

Makarov looked at the door where Porlyusica left through. He thought about the day that she was captured by Cain and Dante because her magic was something they needed. Him and his team fought desperately to get her back, and proved their worth to Cain, as he let them take her back with them after the battle. Now they were coming after Lucy, and for all he knew, they had her. But something about this didn't feel right. After listening to Loke, Master felt that it was almost as if Lucy was taken away to be better protected. The only problems were who took her and why they took her. Master looked at his guild and said, "Because they wanted to take something precious away from me, and I wasn't gonna let them." The bitterness of his words sent chills down the guild members' backs, and they knew that Master was serious.

Loke was in deep thought for a moment, trying to figure something out that was bothering him from the very start. Then without thinking, he said, "What I don't get is why they decided to come after Lucy now. They gave her ten months to live before they were gonna come after her, so why now?" After he spoke, he realized that he said something that he was not planning on sharing with his guild mates, because he knew that he would have to explain _**everything.**_

People looked at him confused, even Master, as they tried to figure out what Loke meant. When no one could come up with an answer, they turned to Loke for an explanation.

"Why were they giving her ten months before they go after her? That doesn't make any sense." Levy said. Her face masked in confusion, just like the rest of the guild.

"Yeah, it doesn't. If they wanted her so badly, shouldn't they have gone after her immediately instead of giving her a chance to escape? And if she had all of this time before the guild took her, why didn't she tell us? Ten months is a lot of time to come up with a battle strategy. We'd be ready for them in ten months," Cana half shouted.

Loke mentally kicked himself. He didn't want to have to tell his guild about Lucy's pregnancy because he knew that he would also have to tell Natsu, and Lucy wanted to avoid that as much as possible. Now it was inevitable. Now he had to come clean about everything. "It's not as simple as you guys are making it," he said a little defeated.

"Then what is it, Loke? Why did she feel the need to hide from us?" Cana asked.

"To protect you guys, but most importantly, to protect herself. You guys would fight until you died if that meant protecting her, and she knew that. She didn't want that, especially in her situation now. You guys would go crazy protecting her now, and she didn't want to put any of you in danger," Loke said seriously.

"What are you talking about, Loke? Is Lucy in more danger? What situation are you talking about?" Mira said a little frantically.

Loke sighed. "Yes, Mira. She is in more danger because…"

"Because what, Loke?" Mira asked.

"Because Lucy's pregnant." Loke just came right out and told them. Their reaction was exactly what he knew it would be, shocked, pale white faces. Even the master looked surprised. He never suspected that Lucy was with child. If he had known, he would have done everything in his power to persuade Lucy to stay. Now she was out there, fighting for not only her life, but her child's life as well. This enraged him more, along with the other guild mates.

Before anyone could say anything, someone's voice caught them off guard and added to the shock and surprise that they were already feeling.

"What—what did you say?"

Every eye in the room turned towards the voice and was extremely stunned to see Natsu with his eyes open, staring at Loke. Gasps and murmurs were heard throughout the room and everyone tried to make their way towards Natsu to see if he was all right, but Natsu never took his eyes off of Loke, and Loke stared back at Natsu a little nervously.

"What did you say, Loke?" Natsu repeated.

Loke never wavered his stare, although now he was more anxious than he wanted to be. "Natsu…"

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A/N: R&R! I hope this chap was good. I know it might be confusing with all the different people taking and having a part of the story, but everything that I do in my story has a meaning. The people who spoke in this chap have bigger roles later on.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Hey everyone! I know it's been a while and I do apologize. I work two jobs and go to school full time, so I was happy to have a little time to sit down with my editor and work on my fanfic. I know a lot of people are anxious to see how Natsu responds to the news of Lucy's pregnancy, but I just hope you guys aren't expecting flame throwing and extreme fighting. I mean he just woke up from a coma, so he's pretty worn. But don't get discouraged because there will be a time where you will see Natsu lose it.

Moving on...today I will be uploading three chapters. I hope this makes up for the long absence. I have a lot more chapters done, it just takes time editing them with my editor (since we both work and go to school), but I hope that I will get the chance to upload again real soon.

Thanks to all of my wonderful fans for reading and reviewing, and I do mean all. Reading your reviews always brightens up my day, and they actually help motivate me to write more, so keep R&R! I hope you guys enjoy these three chapters. Any questions or comments, feel free to write me.

**Disclaimer: **Not the owner of Fairy Tail.

* * *

**Normal POV:**

Porlyusica checked to make sure Natsu was fine. There was nothing physically wrong with him except that he felt extremely exhausted, and that he couldn't help panting. He was straining his body to stay awake, against her advice, because there were some things that he needed answered. He was afraid that if he fell asleep, the guild would talk about things without him, and he wasn't having that.

Next to him was a crying blue exceed who was extremely happy that Natsu was okay. The moment that Natsu spoke, Happy leapt on him, crying his eyes out, but Natsu was too exhausted to soothe his best friend. Happy clung to Natsu, and vowed to never leave his side again, and felt guilty that he was on a mission with Wendy and Carle, when Natsu and the others were off fighting against a dark guild. Natsu patted the exceed's head, letting him know that everything was all right, and that this wasn't his fault. Happy calmed down and moved near Carle and Wendy so he wouldn't be in Porlyusica's way.

Loke stayed quiet as Porlyusica checked on the dragon slayer. Everyone in the guild was watching Natsu, some amazed that he was up before the rest of his team, some worried about his condition since they rarely see him this exhausted, but almost everyone was anxious because he woke up to the news of Lucy being pregnant. That was a shock to them all. No one knew that Lucy was pregnant, and that made them feel worse than before and even more determined to get her back.

They all stayed patiently quiet, waiting for Porlyusica to finish checking Natsu so that they could hear Loke explain everything. The tension in the room was extremely thick, mostly between Natsu and Loke.

Natsu stayed as quiet as he could be. He didn't want to rush the old woman, but his patience was wearing thin. Waking up to Loke saying that Lucy, the love of his life, was pregnant ignited a fire in the pit of his stomach that he never experienced before. Natsu was shocked that he was calm on the outside and not showing how raging mad he was, because he felt like killing ever male on the face of Earthland. His possessive side wanted Lucy's baby to be his, but in order for that to happen, they had to have made love first, and Natsu didn't remember such an act with Lucy, although he has dreamed of it before he realized he loved her. He couldn't believe it took him this long to realize his feelings for her, and now she was gone from him, possibly pregnant with some other man's baby.

His anger flared and without knowing, a fireball engulfed his fist right when Porlyusica was about to check his arm. "Are you trying to burn me, you nitwit?" Porlyusica yelled.

Natsu noticed his fist and quickly distinguished his flames. His guild members looked at him with concerned eyes. They knew that Natsu was trying his best to contain his anger, and they understood why he was furious. Of course they didn't know that he was in love with Lucy, well at least not all of them, but she was still a very precious nakama to him, so he had every right to be angry.

Loke looked at Natsu. The fire dragon slayer was avoiding looking at Loke for the mean time, but Loke couldn't do the same. How was he going to tell Natsu that Lucy was pregnant with his baby? Would Natsu even believe him? The fire idiot was so dense sometimes that Loke was worried that Natsu wouldn't really believe that he and Lucy had sex. And lets say that Natsu did believe him, then what? He knew that Lucy was in love with Natsu, but Loke wasn't so sure that Natsu felt the same way about Lucy. If Natsu did love Lucy the same, then why did he replace her with Lisanna? Why did he allow Lucy to go on all of those solo missions after Lisanna came back? Lucy did tell Loke one time that she wanted to do solo missions to get stronger and to allow Natsu and the others to catch up with Lisanna, but if Natsu really loved Lucy, why did he allow that? Why did he allow Lucy to put herself in danger time after time?

It frustrated Loke because Natsu had no idea about some of the missions that Lucy went on by herself, like the one she took to take down a guild called The Holy Grail. Loke thought Lucy was insane for trying to do that mission herself, but she said that she wanted to prove something. She wanted to prove her worth on Team Natsu. No one except Loke knew this, but Lucy felt very self-conscious ever since Lisanna came home. Lucy felt that since Lisanna was back, she wouldn't be needed as much, so before her team could do anything, Lucy made the first move and went solo for a while, just to get stronger. But Lucy never thought that they would actually kick her off the team. These were some of the things Lucy told him on their train ride away from Magnolia, but Loke didn't want to tell the guild this. It was partly their fault too. Lucy went missing and no one really noticed. If Lucy knew about this, she would have been crushed, and that pissed Loke off. But no matter what, he kept an emotionless face and just looked at the guy who fathered Lucy's baby. He realized that Natsu was also holding his anger in the best he could. Maybe Natsu did care, but Loke needed to know to what extent was Natsu's care. Just like Natsu, Loke was patiently waiting for Porlyusica to finish her check up.

When she didn't find anything wrong with Natsu except for his fatigue, Porlyusica stopped her examination. "You over exerted yourself and I advise you to rest, not that you'll take my advice. All you Fairy Tail mages are a bunch of knuckleheads, who never listen. You guys feel like you always have something to prove, even when the odds are against you," Porlyusica said before leaving the infirmary once more. She couldn't take all of the drama being around this guild, which is why she preferred her solitude. Being around these humans was unbearable and Makarov owed her big time for this.

Everyone looked at Natsu, waiting to see what he was going to do next. He just sat on the cot with his back leaning against the post, and stared at his fists that were balled in his lap. He was breathing heavy and was sweating profusely, but his face was a serious mask. The only signs that gave away how he truly felt were his fists, which told everyone that he wanted answers.

Natsu raised his head and looked at his guild. They seemed to be holding their breaths, waiting for him to do something, but he didn't know what he should do. Should he see how everyone was doing or should he just cut the bull and get straight down to business? He squeezed his fists tighter and thought that maybe he should just cut to the chase. He needed to get to Lucy and figure out what the hell was going on, so no dillydallying.

He turned his head to face Loke and found that the lion spirit was staring back at him. Natsu's anger rose just seeing his face, but he had to calm down or else Loke might not tell him what he needed to know. He closed his eyes and said, "You have a lot to answer for, Loke. I don't care about all the useless stuff. Just give it to me straight and tell me what the hell is going on," he said.

Loke sighed, knowing there was no easy way around this, and decided to oblige to Natsu's request. "Fine. I guess I'll start from the beginning and tell everyone what's really going on." He turned away from Natsu to face the guild, who was staring at him for answers as well. "I didn't tell you guys everything because Lucy didn't want me to mention anything about her baby. She thought that it would safe for everyone if no one knew about her pregnancy, and I wasn't planning on even telling you guys. But since I slipped up, now you know and I think it's best that I tell you guys the real truth."

"So what you've told us before was a lie?" Mira asked. She looked hurt and confused and it broke Loke's heart.

"No, it wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the full truth," Loke said.

"Then what the hell is the full truth?" Cana asked a little rough. Loke expected the guild to be agitated after he kept something so important, like Lucy's pregnancy from them.

Loke looked at his friends seriously and said, "The full truth is that not only is this dark guild after Lucy's magic, but they want her baby's magic as well."

Gasps and shocked faces were heard and seen throughout the room. Loke didn't look his way, but he could feel Natsu's hot gaze on him, and it was a little uncomfortable.

"Wait, how does the guild know about Lucy's baby? We didn't even know," Mira said.

"Remember when I told you guys that the mages from Shadow of Darkness could know all about a person just by touching them? Well, when the second member she met from the guild touched her, he knew. That would be the only explanation," Loke said.

Everyone was confused, but not more than Natsu. He didn't really know what was going on. "Wait, you're going too fast. Who the hell is Shadows of Darkness, and why do they want Lucy and her b…" he couldn't say that last word because it made his possessive nature roar alive inside of him. He had to take a deep breath before speaking again. "Why do they want Lucy?" he said seriously.

Loke turned to him and saw that Natsu was very troubled by the news. Even though he had a bone to pick with the dragon slayer, he felt kind of bad for him too. Loke sighed and took it from the top. "The day that you and your team went on a mission, Lucy's life changed for the worse," Loke began. He saw that what he just said hit Natsu somehow, because the pink headed mage flinched and looked down at his balled up fists as if he was a little distraught. Loke ignored if for the moment and decided to finish explaining things. "She was approached by two members of the dark guild known as Shadows of Darkness. Although she didn't know who they were at first, she got a letter from them in her house, explaining that they were after her and her unborn child's magic because they were important assets to some plan they wouldn't disclose to Lucy."

Natsu's head popped up and he stared at Loke with wide eyes. "They were in her house?" he asked a little frantic.

Loke looked at him and just nodded his head. He saw the anger in Natsu's eyes after he responded. He couldn't say he could blame Natsu though. When Loke first found out that Lucy found the letter in her home, he was pissed too. Who the hell did this guild think they were, barging into the sanctuary of Lucy's home? It bothered him that they invaded her privacy, and he could see that it deeply bothered Natsu as well.

Natsu couldn't take it. Those bastards, who ever they are, were in Lucy's house. His rage wanted an out clause, but he needed to tame it. If he let his anger take control of him, there would be no telling what he might do, and he needed a clear and level head right now. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. Then he opened his eyes and stared at Loke. He needed to hear the rest.

Loke waited until Natsu was settled before he continued. "Within the letter, the guild gave Lucy 10 months before they came after her, that way she could carry her baby full term. After reading the letter, Lucy thought it best to leave the guild to protect herself, but most importantly her child. She disguised herself and decided to get as far away from Magnolia as she could. I accompanied her the whole way and we ended up in Cinder Village."

Something in Natsu stirred. He didn't know why, but the mention of that town reminded him of something. He tried to remember, but nothing came to mind. It frustrated him, but he let it go and listened to Loke.

"We stayed at a nice hotel there, ran by this really nice old lady, but we only got the chance to spend one night there together." Loke paused because he felt an intense glare on his neck. He didn't have to turn and look to know it was Natsu's.

Natsu's glare could have burn holes in Loke. His possessive side was furious at the thought that Loke and Lucy spent the night together in the same hotel. For all he knew, they probably shared the same room or even the same be… and that didn't sit right with his stomach. He was breathing heavy, and he could feel the stares of his fellow guild mates on him. Before he committed murder right then and there, he inhaled and exhaled a few times, which only helped a little. He knew that Lucy wasn't the type of girl to allow just anyone to sleep next to her, so he kept telling himself that over and over. _Only me, Natsu. I'm the __**only **__one who has that special privilege. Calm down. _After repeating that in his head, he eventually calmed and averted his attention back to Loke, so that he could hear the rest of what he had to say.

Loke swallowed hard. In the back of his mind, he assumed that Natsu was going to burst and rip his throat out, but he had to hand it to Natsu for calming himself down. Loke decided that maybe telling Natsu about staying in a hotel alone with Lucy wasn't a good idea, so he wasn't going to mention anymore of the closeness he had with Lucy. Yet even though he was going to be cautious, a small smirk crept on his face due to Natsu's obvious jealousy. _So you might have feelings for her, Natsu,_ he thought to himself. At first he was worried that Lucy was just a friend to Natsu, but he was glad that might not be the case.

After that brief moment, Loke continued. "Anyway, the next day, Lucy wanted to go into town, and I reluctantly went along with her plan. It was at some magic show that I heard a very high pitch sound in my ears and then collapsed. When I woke up, I actually woke up in a nightmare." Loke pained a little just thinking about that nightmare. He was definitely not going to tell Natsu about it because he knew that the dragon slayer wouldn't handle it so well. "Then I woke from the nightmare a few days later in the hotel. Lucy was gone, taken from me and that's when I decided to come to Fairy Tail for help." Loke turned to Natsu and said, "I didn't know that you guys were trying to find her. How did you know she was gone?"

Natsu balled his fists in the sheets, remembering finding the letter Lucy left to her team. It made Natsu mad all over again just thinking about it. "Lucy left a good bye letter. She said that there were things that she had to take care of alone, and that she wouldn't know when she would be back."

"When did you find that letter, Natsu?" Cana asked.

"The day we came back from our mission. Master told me that Lucy went on a long mission, but something didn't seem right to me. So I went to her apartment and found it," Natsu explained.

"If you found that, why didn't you tell us? Why so much secrets? Aren't we apart of the same guild? We should have been told too," Cana fumed. She was angry at the fact that not only did Lucy not say anything to them, but Team Natsu as well. And the mumbles from the crowd seemed to agree with her. The guild should have been informed.

Natsu sighed, knowing that he would be the same way if he were in Cana's shoes, so he wasn't mad at her. Actually, in a way he was in her shoes because Lucy never mentioned this danger to him either, when she should have known that Natsu would have protected her from anything or anyone. His face also saddened because he realized that part of it was his fault. If he didn't replace Lucy with Lisanna on the team, then none of this would have happened. It was his fault because he knew that he probably hurt Lucy's feelings. He didn't know if Lucy felt the same as he did, but if she did, it hurt him to think that he may have broken her heart. Natsu clutched at his heart, feeling intense pressure in his chest at the mere thought of Lucy being hurt. He put his feelings aside and looked at his guild. "We should have told you guys, but think about it Cana, what would you guys have done that me, Erza, Gray and Lisanna haven't? You guys would have been in the same predicament that we ended up in and it would have been worse. We thought that it would be best not to tell you guys yet. If we didn't find Lucy in a week, we were gonna come back here and explain the situation to you guys, but as you can see, we didn't even last more than three days. Do you think that I would have put all of your lives in danger like we put ours?" The fierce look on Natsu's face let his friends know that he was extremely serious. He would rather put his life on the line than risk his friends', and that warmed their hearts.

Cana calmed down, but she wasn't gonna let this conversation die with Natsu's words. "I understand that Natsu, but by saying that, you're basically saying that we're not strong enough to handle this guild that's after Lucy. You're saying that our strength is inferior to yours and that's not—"

"Hold on Cana," Master interrupted. "I don't think that is what Natsu is saying," the old man said while looking at the brown headed mage. "I agree with Natsu and his team. If they had told all of you, it would have been an uproar, and who knows what this dark guild would have done. Take a look at your fallen comrades in front of you." Master pointed to the sleeping bodies of Erza, Gray and Lisanna. The guild was silent as they processed what he was showing them. "This could have been all of you, or worse. In the letter that Lucy received, Shadows of Darkness warned her not to tell her guild or else it would be our demise, right? What do you think that means?" Master paused to allow his question to sink into the members' heads.

They all knew what he was saying, including Cana. She felt a little foolish to even challenge the idea of Natsu thinking of them as inferior, but she was just aggravated. She knew that Natsu and the others were only thinking about the guild's safety, just like Lucy did, but it still didn't help the fact that their actions made her feel helpless.

"Don't look so defeated Cana," Natsu said. "I know how you're feeling. Being in this cot makes me feel helpless too, but it's not gonna stop me from doing all I can to help Lucy. We will find her."

Cana looked at the dragon slayer, and grinned. "Damn right," she said.

Natsu grinned back at Cana and then turned his attention to Loke. "Is there anything more that we need to know Loke?" he asked the lion spirit.

Loke looked down at his lap, trying to think of anything that might be important to share with his guild. Then his eyes widened as he remembered something that he forgot to mention. He lifted his head and stared at the master. "I almost forgot to tell you something important. I don't know what it means, but maybe you could help me figure it out, Master." Makarov nodded his head and waited for Loke to speak. "On my way back to Fairy Tail, I wanted to go back to the Spirit World to replenish my energy, but then I discovered something horrible. Since I had Lucy's keys, I figured that I could force close my gate, but when I took the keys from my pocket, they were all black."

Gasps and murmurs were heard in the infirmary. Eyes widened from the shock of the news and everyone stared at Loke. Natsu didn't understand what was going on, and didn't know why Loke had Lucy's keys.

Master stared at Loke for a while, trying to think of an explanation. "Where are Lucy's keys Loke?" he asked.

"They are in my pants pocket. Cana, can you get them for me?"

Cana helped Loke retrieve the keys from his pants and when she did, the whole guild was stunned. The keys were all black, but they looked like they weren't even there. They looked like true shadows. Cana handed Master the keys and the old man took them, and turned them in his hands. The keys were light, lighter than he expected, and they were almost transparent.

"Loke, did you still try to use your key to close your gate?" he asked the spirit mage.

"Yes, but nothing happened. I even tried to see if I could summon one of the other spirits, but nothing. I couldn't even get in contact with them. It's almost like when I was banished from the spirit world before Lucy came along. I don't even feel my full power as a spirit. This has to be the work of the people who took Lucy from me." Loke was pissed. Not only did these bastards take Lucy, they made sure he wasn't able to go back to the Spirit World and the other spirits couldn't come out. Who exactly were these mages? What kind of magic did they have to do something this huge?

Master thought of what Loke just said. He turned the keys over in his hands and thought of the only thing that could explain this situation. "This is the work of Cain and Dante. Their magic is far greater than we could have thought."

"Who are Cain and Dante?" Natsu asked.

Master looked from Lucy's keys to Natsu's puzzled face. "They are two great mages that use lost magic known as Shadow magic. Those two are extremely dangerous, and I believe that they are the ones behind all of this."

Natsu stared at his master in bewilderment. "You actually know the people who took Lucy?" Natsu half whispered.

"There are only two mages in Earthland that I know of that use this kind of magic, so I am sure they are responsible."

"Can you explain more about what's wrong with Lucy's keys?" Loke asked.

"I am afraid I can't really explain why the keys are this way. It's almost as if these keys are shadow replicas of the real things, or maybe whoever did this incased these keys in their own shadows, which explains why they cannot be used. But these are just assumptions. In order to get Lucy's keys back to normal, I am afraid we are going to have to go to the source of the magic."

Loke sighed. It was too dangerous to face these mages, but there was no other choice. He knew that, now more than ever, Fairy Tail was going to go to war with this dark guild. Things were turning for the worse.

Natsu stared off into space, trying to process all of this information. 1) Lucy was taken by these two mages that are extremely dangerous, and if Master said they were, then they were. 2) The magic that these guys use is very dark and dangerous lost magic, which explained why him and his team were taken down so easily. 3) Lucy was having a baby. 4) These two mages wanted Lucy and her baby's magic to use in some plan of theirs that no one knows about, and 5) Lucy's keys were unusable and Loke was drained of his spiritual energy.

Natsu was starting to get a headache. He was frustrated, and all he wanted to do was get Lucy back and kick this dark guild's ass. He turned his head to his right and saw his three teammates lying on cots, almost lifeless. He couldn't understand why he was the only one awake after what they been through, and he hoped that Erza, Gray and Lisanna opened their eyes soon.

He turned to look at the rest of his guild mates, and then looked at Master. "So what do we do now?"

Everyone turned to look at Master, and Makarov sighed and closed his hand over Lucy's keys. "Our number one priority now is to get Lucy back. If Cain and Dante are the ones behind this, then trying to go against them off the back is suicide. While we are in the process of finding Lucy, we also need to find any information on Shadows of Darkness. We need to make sure we know who we are dealing with. If Cain and Dante formed a guild and taught the members that lost magic, then we might be in trouble."

"We need to come up with a plan that allows all of us to be on the move without catching this guild's attention," Mira said.

"The only way to do that is if we all split into teams and go off in different directions in the hope of finding Lu-chan," Levy said.

"But how will we be able to communicate with one another?" Wendy asked. She looked at Carle to see if she had an answer, but the white Exceed just shrugged her shoulders.

Happy smiled and raised his hand to get everyone's attention. "Maybe me, Carle, and Lily could fly back and forth to relay information to each group." He was excited that he had an idea, but one look at Carle's face said it all.

"There are only three of us and that would exhaust us. And we don't even know how much teams will be formed. Anyway, we would also need to know the exact locations of each team otherwise we would get lost on our way. Besides, I'm not leaving Wendy's side knowing that there's a dark guild out to get Fairy Tail," Carle said, a little aggressively.

"Well, I don't want to leave Natsu's side either," Happy said.

"Then why even suggest such an idea? Really, sometimes I don't get you." Carle "tsked" and crossed her arms as she glared daggers at Happy. The blue exceed moved away from the angry white exceed, and joined Natsu on his cot.

"How about using Lacrima crystals to communicate?" Mira suggested.

"That's actually a great plan, Mira," Cana said.

"I agree," Carle added, and then mockingly looked at Happy, which made the blue cat deflate.

"Don't worry Happy," Natsu said while patting the blue exceed. "I thought your idea was cool."

"Really?" Happy beemed.

"Of course," Natsu said with a grin. That cheered the blue exceed up.

"Now we have to figure out how we are splitting into teams," Cana said. "Maybe you could help us out here, Master."

Everyone turned to look at Makarov as he thought deeply about how to split his children up. "Before we do this, there is something that I will have to address. I think it's a good idea for some of you to stay behind in Fairy Tail."

The guild members were puzzled. They didn't understand what Master was talking about, and some of them questioned whether he thought some of them weren't strong enough. Before anyone could voice their opposition, Master continued.

"I know that some of you are wondering if I think that you are not up for the challenge, but that is not it. The reason I feel that some of you should stay back is to guard Fairy Tail. We do not know if this guild is watching our every move, and we don't want them to get a chance to destroy our home like Phantom Lord once did."

That made sense and everyone understood. Gajeel, who was in the back of the crowd, flinched a little at the mention of when he participated in destroying Fairy Tail. Even though he was forgiven, and was happy to be a part of this guild, it still made him wince knowing that he once set out to hurt his guild and his guild members. He folded his arms in front of his chest, closed his eyes, and tried to dissolve in the background, but a small hand grabbed his arm and squeezed tight. He opened his eyes to see Levy holding on to him, without even looking at him. She was still facing Master while the old man talked. Gajeel was a little baffled by the blunette's actions, but then his heart warmed because she unknowingly needed to make sure that he was still behind her. He put his iron like hand on hers and rubbed soothing circles on her skin. He closed his eyes, and listen to Makarov talk.

"If we have a force here at Fairy Tail, then if this dark guild comes after our home, we'll be prepared. Of course, I'll be staying behind as well."

Everyone was shocked. "What do you mean Master?" Mira asked. Everyone was watching him, wondering what the small old man was thinking.

"If the enemy is watching us, as Loke once said they would do, then they would see that we split up, going for Lucy and protecting our guild. Most likely, our strongest mages would go on the hunt for Lucy, while the rest of us will stay here. The dark guild's best move would be to destroy our guild before going after the mages that will be searching for Lucy. If I am here, the dark guild might think twice about destroying our home, because they know that it would be a challenge, and the only way to defeat me is for the person behind the scenes to come out and show their face. And if the dark guild is serious about destroying us, this is the best way for us to see who really is the master of this guild. If Cain and Dante are behind this, then they wouldn't hide for long." Master paused to let his words be digested by everyone.

People were thinking about what Master said, and there were some nods in agreement after they realized that what Master said was true. By him staying here, he was forcing out whoever was calling the shots to make a move, and then they would finally get to see who it is? And if the dark guild attacked their home, they would have a force here to protect it along with Makarov. Now all they needed to do was decide on who was going after Lucy.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **Chapter 11! R&R! Enjoy

**Disclaimer: **Not the owner of Fairy Tail.

* * *

**Lucy's POV:**

_Where am I?_

_Why am I in such a dark place? Is anyone there?_

_What happened to me? I feel weak and I can't move my body._

_I don't know what's happening. Someone please help. _

_Anyone…_

"_You don't have to be afraid."_

_Who said that? Where is he? And why does his voice sound like déjà vu? "Who's there?"_

"_Someone familiar to you."_

"_I don't know who you are, so how could you be familiar to me? And why is it so dark?"_

"_Open your eyes, Lucy."_

_How does he know my name? And open my eyes? Aren't my eyes open? What's going on?_

_*Chuckle* "You're as stubborn as always. Why don't you just trust me and open your eyes, Lucy."_

_I'm scared. What if the person in front of me is scary? And why does this feel like __**déjà vu? **_

_*Giggles* "You're really cracking me up. I promise you that I am not scary, and if you open your eyes, I'll explain why this feels like déjà vu. So, Luce…"_

_When this person called me Luce, I couldn't help but be curious as to who he was. No one else calls me Luce besides Natsu, but I knew from this guy's voice that it wasn't him. Why did he call me that?_

_I summoned up courage and opened my eyes. When I did, I was a little shocked at what I saw. "You're…you're a—" _

"_A child. I know." Then the child chuckled. "This really is déjà vu. Can't you think of anything original when you see me, or am I going to get the same response from you all the time?" the boy asked._

_I didn't know how to respond because I didn't know exactly what he was talking about. He seemed familiar with me, but I would have remembered seeing such a beautiful child. He was strawberry blonde, with big onyx eyes…eyes that were too big for his face, but it made him look so beautiful. He couldn't be more than seven, yet he seemed so mature. I know I've never seen him before, but his grin was familiar to me. It reminded me of Natsu's. Just who was this boy?_

_The boy laughed. I looked at him in confusion. "Just what's so funny?" I asked._

"_You are," he said. He calmed down and looked me right in the eyes. "I guess you can't be original after all."_

"_What are you talking about?" I asked. What the hell was he talking about original? _

"_You said almost the same things about me when we first met. I guess you can't help being original, since to you this is the first time we're meeting."_

_My eyes grew wide. "What are you talking about? We've met before?" I asked._

_The boy nodded, but I would have remembered meeting him. "No you wouldn't have. I erased your memory of me."_

_I just stared at him, shocked and very confused. "So…we met before?" I asked. The boy nodded. "Then who are you and why did you erase my memory of you?"_

_The boy's face got serious, all trace of laughter gone. He looked at me like what he was about to say was important, and I couldn't help but pay close attention to his explanation. He sighed. "I entered your dreams once before for two reasons."_

"_What reasons were they?" I asked._

_He grinned a little and said, "Because I wanted to meet you and actually talk to you. I needed to meet you." His grin and his eyes saddened a little bit, which took me aback. "And the other reason was to confirm something."_

"_What did you want to confirm?"_

_His smirk grew and the sadness that was in his eyes vanished and was replaced with menace, like a child who was about to pull a prank. "I can't tell you that," was his reply._

_I got annoyed. "You told me that you were going to tell me why this was a déjà vu and now you're holding info back? That's not fair!" I shouted. What a brat! He probably never got a scolding in his life, which is why he acted conceded._

_He chuckled wickedly. "Haven't you ever heard that life isn't fair? Besides, that's not important and the last time we met, I didn't tell you what I wanted to confirm either, so you didn't miss any info." _

_What a brat! Talking to me like a child. Ooo….I ought to—_

"_Scold me?" the boy guessed. _

_I scrunched my face and folded my arms in annoyance and he just laughed. "I don't think I'm so funny," I said, really annoyed._

"_I'm sorry, Luce. It's just so funny teasing you. You have no idea how good it feels to do something like this with you. It feels like the first time."_

_He continued to laugh, but I could hear the sincerity in his voice. He sounded like he's waited forever to just laugh at me…or with me. Either way, for some reason, his longing warmed my heart. Even if he's a brat, I couldn't stay angry with him. He really reminded me of Natsu._

_Speaking of Natsu…didn't that boy call me Luce again? Why was he calling me that?_

_Reading my mind, his grin disappeared and he put on a serious mask. He stared at me and even his eyes got a little cold. I didn't know why he suddenly changed and I didn't like the change in the atmosphere. Where was the brat from earlier? This kid in front of me now meant business. Fun and games were over. "What's wrong? Why the sudden change?" I asked._

"_I need to tell you a few more things," he said. I braced myself for whatever it was. He didn't look away from me, but continued to stare into my eyes. "I also entered your dreams last time to tell you that I was your protector."_

"_You? My protector? But you're a child. If anything, don't you need protecting?" I asked. How was this little runt my protector?_

_Still, there was no laughter. He just stared at me with those cold eyes._

"_I may appear before you as a child Lucy, but I can assure you that I am capable of protecting you if it's the last thing I do," he said seriously. "The last time we met, you were shocked to hear that I was your protector as well. I get it, but don't be fooled so easily."_

"_What do you mean fooled?" I was confused and a little rattled by him. He was too mature for me. A seven year old…_

"_I mean don't judge a book by reality."_

"_Don't you mean don't judge a book by its cover? I think that's how the saying goes." _

_The boy just shook his head, still gazing at me with those eyes. "No, I mean what I said. Reality can be weird. Things you think you know, you don't. And things you swear can't be, is."_

_I stared at him baffled. "Okay, kid. You're racking my brain. What are you talking about? I don't understand. You're speaking in tongues." _

_For the first time in a while, amusement appeared in his eyes, but his face was still serious. He folded his arms and said, "All I'm saying is that there are things in this world that would be hard to explain because they go against what should be real. If I were to tell you that me and you are a lot closer than you think, you probably wouldn't believe me, right?"_

_I shrugged. "I guess I wouldn't."_

"_And why is that?" he asked me._

"_Because I've never seen you before, regardless of the fact that you told me that we've met before. You said it yourself, this is a dream, so for all I know you're not even real." _

_The boy smirked a little, a small mischievous grin and said, "That's exactly what I mean. You judge everything on what has to be real, even when it challenges reality."_

"_So what you're saying is that you're a real little boy that I know, and that me and your relationship is deeper than what I see?" _

"_More or less," the boy nodded. There was no way that what he was saying was the truth. All of this seemed unreal anyway. "See, there you go again saying that it's unreal."_

"_Then what is it suppose to be? Am I supposed to just trust you?"_

_His amusement left his eyes as he stared at me. "It's good that you don't trust me. Trusting people so easily is dangerous anyway, and it makes my job as your protector harder. I told you this when we first met too."_

"_What, you're saying that I shouldn't trust you?"_

"_No, I'm just saying not to trust people so easily."_

"_If you're my 'protector', shouldn't you tell me who I should and shouldn't trust?" I couldn't believe that we were having this petty argument, but this kid was running me in circles. First he tells me to trust him, and then he tells me not to trust him. He says that he's my protector, but yet he teases me and makes me feel like I need protecting from him. I have no idea what this kid is talking about, and it's about damn time that he comes straight with me._

"_Who am I, your magic mirror? It's not my job to baby you and point out who the bad guy is and who the good guy is. It's called proper judgment, and that's something you're gonna have to learn on your own. My job is to protect you when you make a bad judgment, so that way you won't die, or worse, end up in the hands of the enemy."_

_That's it…this brat is too much! I looked at him with my death glare from hell, a stare I picked up from Erza. I needed him to know that he couldn't just speak to people in anyway he deemed fit. He was a little kid for Mavis's sake. He needs to learn respect for his elders. "You know what kid, you have a lot of nerves talking to me like I'm some kind of imbecile. You need to learn how to talk to your seniors better. If I were your mother, you'd get such a punishment, you'd beg for forgiveness—" _

"_Then punish me. You have the right, but right now there are more pressing matters than how I talk to you. I don't have a lot of time in this form and there are still things I'd like to tell you while we're still alone."_

_What was this brat talking about, and how dare he cut me off? And what did he mean by this form? What did he mean by 'while we're still alone'? This kid really pisses me off. "What are you talking about? What pressing matters? And what the hell do you mean by 'then punish me, you have the right'? I'm not your mother, but she should be more strict with you." I looked at him sternly, waiting for him to answer me. His face went from serious, to gentle, and then I saw sadness in his eyes. He sighed, closed his eyes and crossed his arms. I was confused about his sudden change, again, and for some reason I was concerned. "Now what's wrong? Kid you're really confusing me," but he just stayed silent with his eyes closed. Did I say something to upset him? I didn't know, but he wasn't moving. He was so stubborn. I crossed my arms again, and closed my eyes just as stubbornly. "For some big time protector, you sure can act childish you know," I said. "I guess it can't be helped since you're a child and all."_

"_I'm not childish. I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop," he said. _

_I took a peek to see if he moved, but he still had his arms crossed and eyes closed. Damn this kid. "What other shoe?" I asked. There was silence. I took another peek, and he still didn't move. This kid was frustrating. "Hey kid, you know you've got some—" _

"_Luce…please. I don't have a lot of time in this form, so hurry up and let the other shoe drop."_

_My eyes grew wide. The way he said my name just then sent shivers down my spine with familiarity. It was like Natsu begging for something he really wanted, and I didn't like it being used the same way, even if he is a kid. I turned my face, feeling it get redder and not wanting him to see me blush. I placed my hands on my stomach and rubbed soothing circles. I didn't know why exactly, but it was something that I needed to do for some reason. This kid calling me Luce…I didn't feel upset, but it felt rather strange. Since I couldn't figure out why, I'd just rather him not do it. "Please, stop calling me that so casually," I said calmly._

"_Why? Because only Natsu can call you that?" he said, just as calm._

"_No, but it's like a family name. Only those apart of that family [A/N: Fairy Tail] can call me that."_

"_But he's the only one who calls you that. And besides, I'm family, right?"_

_I turned my head to him, confused. He still hasn't moved from his pose, which showed me just how stubborn he was. I couldn't help but smile. He reminded me of myself. I could be so stubborn, but his teasing side was nothing like me. It almost reminded me of Natsu. But what did that mean? And what did he mean when he said that he was family too? How could that be? This kid was so confusi…_

…

'**Then punish me. You have the right—'**

'**Because I wanted to meet you and actually talk to you—'**

'**You have no idea how good it feels to do something like this with you. It feels like the first time—'**

'**I mean don't judge a book by reality—'**

'**If I were to tell you that me and you are a lot closer than you think, you probably wouldn't believe me, right—'**

'**Reality can be weird. Things you think you know, you don't. And things you swear can't be, is—'**

'**I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop—'**

'**Luce…please—'**

'**And besides, I'm family, right—'**

…

_No way…_

_My eyes were huge, shocked open. I couldn't help but stare at him. _How could I not see it…?

_The blonde hair like me, but spiked everywhere like him. The 'too big' eyes from me, but the onyx color from him. His stubbornness from me, but his teasing nature…_

_And that grin from him._

_Without my consent, tears flooded down my face as I looked at my little boy. "No way," I whispered._

_He finally took a peek to see what I was up too, but when he did, he saw my big teary eyes, my flushed red cheeks, and my gaped mouth. He unfolded his arms and looked at me with worry. "Lucy, are you okay?" he asked while taking a step closer to me._

_I took a step back, not so sure how to deal with this. He paused in his steps and just gazed at me, worry burning his face. How much more mature can this little kid get? Any more, and he would have permanent worry lines between his brows, and then the girls wouldn't think he's so handsome. _But what the hell was I thinking at a time like this!?

"_You're…" How can I ask him? _

_His eyes grew a little bigger and he looked at me like he was pressing for me to say more. "I'm…" he said._

_I cleared my throat and tried to muster up some courage. This wasn't as big of a deal as I was making it, and if what this little boy was saying is true, then he didn't have a lot of time for me to be a coward. "You're… you're my…" I just couldn't say it, so I looked down at my belly and placed my hands on my stomach. Then I looked at the boy with a fresh new batch of tears rolling down my face._

_His eyes grew as he finally realized what I was getting at. For a moment, we just stared at each other, but then he sighed and looked at me with a loving gaze. "Took you long enough to fig—"_

_I didn't even hear him say the rest as I rushed to him, picked him up and crushed him to my chest. "You're mine and Natsu's baby, aren't you?" I cried. I couldn't help the overflowing emotions coming out of me. Here I was hugging my own child! Who would have believed that?_

_I squeezed him to me, crying in his hair as I took a whiff. I couldn't believe that this boy was my son. His arms hugged me back and he buried his head on my shoulder, and I squeezed a little tighter. This was too weird, but it felt right._

_After a moment of hugging, I kneelt to the floor and let go of him, but he took my hands in his. I couldn't stop crying, which was blurring my vision of him as I got the chance to see him up close and personal. Wow…I couldn't believe how much he looked like me, but there was some Natsu in there too. We just stared at each other, me crying like a baby and him smiling like a goof._

"_I still can't believe this is real," I said in between sobs._

_He took one of his hands from mine and wiped at my tears. "I told you to stop judging a book by reality. I know to you this is unreal, but it can be explained," he said._

"_Then hurry up and explain it to me so I can understand." I wanted to know how this could be possible. How in the hell could I be here talking to my unborn child? Inside __**my **__dream at that._

"_Later. I'm running out of time in this form. I promise I will explain everything later."_

"_What do you mean you're running out of time?" I asked. I finally calmed myself down and stopped the tears from rolling, but I was still very confused. "You keep saying that you're running out of time. What's going on?"_

"_Look, that's not important right now. What's important is that—Owww!" _

_I was tired of the run around, so as a mother, I decided to get the information I was seeking out of my child…by pinching the hell out of his cheeks and speaking in a demonic voice. "What the hell do you mean it's not important? When I ask you a question, I expect an answer, got it?"_

_When I felt a slight hesitation on his part, I pinched and stretched harder until, "Owww…okay, okay, okay!" Then I let his skin slip through my hands and waited until he was finished soothing his bruise to continue talking. "Geez, the minute you realize you're my mother, you start abusing me."_

"_Well, you were being a pain this whole time, so… Now, first, before you tell me anything else…can I ask you one thing?" He was still rubbing his cheeks when he nodded. I found him really cute. "What's you're name? I know it might be weird of me asking you this, but I presume you have one, since you're already at this age."_

_I was a little nervous to hear what his name was, hoping that it wasn't something really stupid. He caught on to my thinking and laughed. "No, you don't have to worry. You didn't name me anything stupid." I thanked Mavis for that. "I told you my name last time, but this time I want you to actually think hard about it. You've always wanted to name your kids after the sky, and you wanted your first son to be named close to a god. It's not that hard to figure out, Luce." I winced at him calling me Luce. I guess he wasn't comfortable calling me his mom yet. He shook his head. "You have no idea how good it would feel to call you Mom, but I don't want to make you uncomfortable. But don't worry, I'll get there one day, just wait for me," he said and then he smiled. Gosh he looked so much like Natsu with that smile and it distracted me from thinking about what I wanted to name my kids. _

_Now, my first son is named after something dealing with the sky and god…maybe he is named after a celestial being? But they weren't gods. Sky…and god…_

_Then I had a thought that brought a smile to my face. "Knowing me, your name is pretty easy to guess with those clues. I named you Tenjin, didn't I?" I asked._

_He nodded his head. "How did you guess?" he asked._

_I closed my eyes and shook my head. This was too weird, but a good weird. When I opened my eyes, tears rolled down my face._

_He looked a little confused and caressed my cheeks with his free hand. "Lucy?" he asked out of concern._

_I just smiled and placed my hand over his hand that was on my face, and held it to me._

"_Are you okay?" he asked._

_I nodded. "It's just I can't believe you're my Tenjin," I said._

"_How did you guess my name?" he asked me again. _

"_Well, think about it. I wouldn't name you after someone, and I wouldn't name you something so complex. Ten- for sky and -jin for god. Pretty easy." _

_Tenjin laughed and nodded his head in agreement. "I guess I gave you too much of a hint for you to figure it out so easily."_

"_No, I just know me," I replied back with a smile, and he smiled back. He looked so much like Natsu when he smiled that it almost hurt to watch. My smile soon faded and I realized that I needed answers from him to figure out what was going on. "Now that I got that out the way, why do you keep saying you're running out of time?"_

_Tenjin sighed and looked at me with serious eyes. "Lucy, this isn't my true form. Actually, I only appeared in front of you as a child so that you'd listen to me and wouldn't get scared of me. Right now, you're being transported somewhere far away."_

_My heart skipped in my throat at the news of me being taken away somewhere far. "What do you mean, Tenjin? Where's Loke?"_

"_He's not with you. Like I said last time, his spiritual energy is being depleted the longer he stays here on Earthland, so he won't be able to protect you for long. He was left behind, but he's safe."_

"_How do you know he's safe? What's going on?" I started to panic. Loke wasn't with me and anything could have happened to him. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything were to happen to one of my spirits, but most of all Loke. "Okay, I need to wake up and go find him. Please, show me how to wake up." I got off my knees and walked away from Tenjin, looking around for an exit. I needed to find Loke. He must be worried about me and I needed to let him know that I was safe._

_Tenjin walked up to me and took my hand in his. "Lucy, you'll wake up soon, but there's no way you can go back to Loke."_

_I looked down at the little boy and panic was fresh on my face. "What do you mean I can't go back?"_

_Tenjin sighed and looked away from me. It looked like he was staring at something far away, but when I looked all I could see was darkness. Then he looked me straight in the face. "We've run out of time. I promise everything will be explained to you. I just wanted to tell you that when you wake up, don't be afraid of the people who kidnapped you."_

"_What!? Kidnapped! I was kidnaped? And on top of that, you're telling me not to be afraid of my abductors? Are you insane!" I yelled. "Are you really my son? Because if you are then why are you saying such things? What the crap!" I continued to panic, but I hesitated a little when I looked down at Tenjin. His eyes were a little sad after I said what I did. Did I offend him? His eyes were pulling at my heartstrings and I couldn't help but bend down and hug him._

_I must have caught him by surprise because he flinched in my arms, but then he melted in my hug and hugged me back. "I wish I could hug you forever," he whispered._

_His statement was a little sad, so I hugged him tighter to make him feel better. "Don't worry, when you're born I'll hug you all the time." _

_After a moment, he pulled away, took my hands and gazed at me. "You're waking up. Can you feel it?" he asked. _

_I did feel a little hazy, and light headed. I guess those were the symptoms for me waking up. "I think so. Wait, what will happen to me when I wake up? Will you erase my memories again? I don't want you too. Granted, it's weird knowing my own child before you're born, but I don't want to forget you." _

_He stared at me and then he smiled his father's grin. He placed a hand on my cheek and rubbed it soothingly. "Not this time. I don't want you to forget me either. And it's important that you remember me. Luce, please trust me when I tell you to not fear the people you will meet soon. Believe it or not, they are your only hope of surviving the enemy. I know I'm asking a lot from you, but you are my mother, and I would __**never **__put your live…" then he looked down at my stomach and placed a hand on it. His touch was very light and gentle. "Nor mine in jeopardy." Then he removed his hand and his face had a small trace of sadness and anger, but it was gone with a blink of an eye, as if it never happened. _

_I thought for a moment, feeling hazy, and then I decided to trust my child. There would be no reason for him to put our lives in jeopardy, so I would listen to him. He looked at me, waiting for my answer, and I nodded. "Okay. And if anything happens to me, I'll always remember this and scold you in the future for it," I said with a wicked grin._

_He smiled at me and laughed a little. "Deal. Now, as much as I want you all to myself, you have to go." He let go of my hand and walked backwards away from me. _

_All of a sudden, I felt lonely and I wanted to run and hug him one more time, but the haze was really heavy and things started to get blurry. "Tenjin…" I reached out my hand to try and grab him, but he was too far._

"_It's okay…I'll see you soon, Mom. It's time to wake up."_

_I didn't know if it was the haze, but something trickled down my face like teardrops and then everything went black…_

* * *

A/N: This is a big deal now that Lucy knows about her own son. Things are going to heat up from now on. Wait til chapter 13 and 14 come out. I might make some toupees explode of yall heads! R&R.


	12. Chapter 12

_**AN:** _Chapter 12! Again, enjoy! R&R.

**Disclaimer: **Not the owner of Fairy Tail.

* * *

_**Previously…**_

_People were thinking about what Master said, and there were some nods in agreement after they realized that what Master said was true. By him staying here, he was forcing out whoever was calling the shots to make a move, and then they would finally get to see who it is? And if the dark guild attacked their home, they would have a force here to protect it along with Makarov. Now all they needed to do was decide on who was going after Lucy._

* * *

**Normal POV:**

"Since we have no clue of where Lucy is right now, I think the best thing for us is to use are our dragon slayers," Master said.

Natsu, Gajeel and Wendy all looked at Master, trying to guess at what he was saying. Gajeel caught on quicker than the young Wendy and the dense Natsu and soon enough, the rest of the guild understood.

"That makes sense, Master," Mira said.

"Yeah, since they have the strongest senses of all of us, it would be better to use them to track Lucy down," Cana said.

Natsu finally got what Master was getting at, grinning in agreement with the rest of his guild. "So that means that we will have to split up in three teams so that each group has a dragon slayer," Natsu said.

"I wonder if three teams would be enough," Loke said. "It might take longer to find Lucy."

"Who else has the ability to sniff out her scent like those three?" Cana asked.

"If you want, Me, Carle and Lily could help. We have great noses," Happy said.

"There's no way I am leaving Wendy's side. Three teams will have to do," Carle said. She crossed her arms and looked away from the blue exceed. Happy looked defeated and decided to keep quiet from now on.

"Three teams will be enough, and it will help to be in a large group in case you get ambushed," Master said. There were no more arguments about the teams, and the only thing left was to place people in groups.

"So how do we choose who goes where?" Elfman asked.

"Well, I was thinking on waiting to decide that," Master said. "We still need to wait for Erza, Gray and Lisanna to wake up."

"But what if that takes long? We don't have time to waste here Master," Cana said.

"No, he's right Cana. I don't know if I would be able to focus on finding Lucy knowing Lisanna is still unconscious," Mira said.

"And Juvia will wait for Gray-sama as well," Juvia said.

"Also, Erza would be helpful with deciding who goes where for each team. She knows how to put people together based on how their magic would compliment others. There's no way around this. We just have to hope and pray that our nakama wake up soon," Master said. The little old man jumped off of the cot he was sitting on and started to walk to the infirmary door. "Natsu and Loke, get some rest. We'll be needing all of your strength," he said before leaving.

The rest of the guild looked between Loke and Natsu, not really knowing what to expect from the two.

Loke stared down at his hands on his lap, thinking about Lucy and how he was unable to protect her. But before he could get mad at himself all over again, Natsu surprised the whole room by opening his mouth.

"Hey everyone, thank you for being here when I woke up. I'm grateful, but can you guys leave now. I need to talk to Loke alone."

Everyone was stunned and didn't know if they should move or stay put to hear what Natsu wanted to talk to Loke about. Most of them figured that Natsu wanted to talk about Lucy's pregnancy, and they wanted to hear the details about that too. But they thought better of it and finally decided to leave the two alone for now. They knew that they would get the details eventually. Mira walked over to Lisanna's sleeping body and kissed her on the forehead before leaving the infirmary with Elfman. Juvia wanted to kiss Gray too, but Cana took her hand and left the room. Wendy checked Natsu and Loke's temperatures one last time before leaving with Levy, Gajeel and the three exceeds.

Everyone was gone and the room was silent. Loke looked at the pink headed mage, waiting for him to ask any question, but Natsu just looked at his own hands, his face expressionless. Loke knew that Natsu wanted to talk about Lucy and the baby, but Loke didn't really prepare himself for that conversation. Lucy didn't even want anyone to know about her pregnancy, especially Natsu. She told him herself…

**Loke's Flashback, Normal POV:**

_Loke was holding her hands in his, as he stared at Lucy's flushed face. Tear marks were visible on her cheeks and her eyes were swollen from crying. She looked exhausted, but he knew that she wasn't going to go to sleep until she told him everything. _

_She already told him about the guild coming after her, and now she was explaining about her pregnancy. Loke was shocked. He already knew that she was pregnant from when he approached her at the train station, but he couldn't believe who was the father. "Natsu?" he asked._

"_Yes," Lucy said. "I know it sounds weird, and who would have guessed that that dense pink headed fool could have done this, but he is the father."_

"_And you're positive, right?" Loke asked. He was still stunned and he was trying to picture Natsu with Lucy. For some reason, he just couldn't picture it._

_Lucy rolled her eyes and said, "What kind of question is that? You make it seem like I slept with a lot of people and anyone could be the father." She was a little annoyed at Loke, but she understood his doubt. Natsu didn't seem like the kind of guy who could mate with a girl, because he probably wouldn't know how, but he did._

_Loke shook his head. "No Lucy. I know you're not that kind of person, but I mean…Natsu? How did that happen?"_

_Lucy looked away, a little embarrassed. She twisted her fingers nervously and said, "Well, we were celebrating the new Team Natsu and everyone was drinking and having a good time. Towards the end, people were sleeping all over the place, and Mira asked me to take Natsu home. But I didn't know where he lived, so I took him to my house. We were both pretty drunk, so we fell asleep and I had this crazy dream where…" she paused and her face got red. She was too embarrassed to talk._

_Loke looked at Lucy with an eager face. "What dream? Don't just stop there. Keep going. It's too late to be embarrassed because you're having Natsu's kid. If that's not embarrassing enough, I don't know what is."_

_Lucy looked at Loke with a look that could kill, and he shrank back in his seat next to her, not wanting to anger her any further. Lucy sighed and continued. "It was a weird dream where me and Natsu were intimate," she finally said._

_Loke's eyes grew big. "But that was only a dream, right? You can't get pregnant from a dream…can you?"_

_Lucy shook her head. "I don't think it was a dream, Loke. I never was intimate with anyone else before that. And there were too many unanswered things this morning that made me think that me and Natsu had sex last night."_

"_What unanswered things?" Loke asked._

_Lucy's face grew redder and she said, "Things like how real the dream felt, and why I felt sore in between my legs…and where were my panties?" Lucy looked away again in embarrassment, but became shocked when she heard Loke laughing. She looked at him and saw that he was really laughing hard. "What's so funny?" she fumed._

_After he calmed down, he looked at Lucy with a huge smile and said, "Even if he's a dunce cap, I guess he's still a man." Loke didn't stop smiling._

_Lucy was a little surprised, but then she smiled too. Then Lucy's face fell, and she was a little sad. _

_Loke noticed Lucy's change. "What's wrong, Princess?" _

"_I was just thinking how glad I was that me and Natsu were together for one night, but that will never happen again, and not only because I'm on the run, but because they forgot about me," Lucy said._

"_What are you talking about? They didn't forget about you L—"_

"_Yes they did, Loke," Lucy said a little loud. "They replaced me on the team without even talking to me about it. I know that I have been solo for a while, but it was for them. I haven't stopped thinking about them, even when I went on solo missions, yet they replaced me."_

"_But what about you and Natsu? If he forgot about you, then why did he decide to sleep with you, Lucy?"_

_Lucy pointed her finger in Loke's face and said, "Didn't I tell you to call me Lola? You have to be careful with that Loke." Loke nodded and apologized, and Lucy put her finger down. She sighed. "And about that, Natsu was drunk beyond reason. He probably thought I was Lisanna," she said, and then her face got sadder. _

_Loke stared at Lucy annoyed and said, "You obviously don't know, do you?"_

_Lucy looked at him confused. "What are you talking about?" she asked._

"_Princess, I don't think you're giving Natsu enough credit. I doubt he was thinking about Lisanna."_

"_Yeah right. I don't blame him and I'm not mad at him if he was thinking about her. It makes sense. They're childhood friends, and I know that Lisanna has liked him since then. I wouldn't be surprised if he felt the same way. It's just…" she paused._

"_It's just what?" Loke asked._

_Lucy looked into his eyes, looking as if she was about to cry, and said, "I guess I was just hoping that he would see me the way I see him." She looked away, uncomfortable with her feelings._

_Loke squeezed her hands to soothe her, and said, "Maybe he does."_

_Lucy smiled sadly. "It's fine if he doesn't. It would make me not being there at Fairy Tail easier for him."_

"_Just because he might not have feelings for you doesn't mean that he wouldn't worry that you're not there," Loke said._

"_Well, let's just hope that they don't notice for a while. I don't want them to find out anything."_

"_Not even about your baby?"_

_Lucy took one of her hands from Loke's and placed it on her stomach. "Nope. I don't plan on seeing any of them again anyway, so why would they need to know?"_

"_At least Natsu has a right to know," Loke voiced. "Maybe not now, but in the future, you should write him, explaining everything to him."_

"_For his own good, he doesn't need to know." Loke was going to say something, but Lucy looked at him with a face that said she wasn't going to back down. "Hopefully in the future, he starts a new family with the girl of his dreams and forgets all about me," she finished saying._

_Loke sighed. He felt that Natsu deserved to know that Lucy was having his baby. He felt that it was unfair for only Lucy to be burdened with this knowledge, but he knew that Lucy was too stubborn to listen to reason. _

"_I know it may sound harsh saying this Loke, but it's to protect everyone. If Natsu found out that I was having his baby, he would risk his life to save me, and the guild would too. As much as I want to tell them, I can't let them do that, so I don't mind taking on the burden. If this is the last thing I could do to protect them, then I'll do it." _

_Lucy looked determined and Loke knew she meant every word. He sighed and squeezed her hand again. "Okay, Princess. No one will know."_

_Lucy smiled and thanked Loke, before she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. _

**End of Flashback.**

Loke kept staring at Natsu, waiting for the dragon slayer to say something, and trying to figure out how he would answer him.

Natsu squeezed his fists tight and closed his eyes. "Who's the father?" Natsu asked.

Even though Loke was expecting this question, it still startled him to hear it come out of Natsu's mouth. What was he going to tell him? He didn't think that far ahead.

The room was silent except for their breathing, and after a moment, Natsu turned his head to face Loke and opened his eyes. The flames behind his lids stunned Loke a little. He saw Natsu's passion to find out the truth, but he was still clueless as how to answer him. "Who is the father to Lucy's baby, Loke?" Natsu asked again.

Loke gulped, hearing a bit of harshness in Natsu's voice. Loke thought that Natsu must have been getting annoyed that his question was going unanswered, but Loke still didn't know what to tell him.

"Damn it Loke, it's not that hard to answer the fucking question. Who is the father to Lucy's baby?!"

"I don't know!" Loke shouted back. Natsu's eyes widened with shock, and Loke's did as well. He couldn't believe that came out of his mouth, but was sort of glad that it did. Now he could go on the pretense of not knowing who fathered Lucy's baby.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Natsu asked.

Loke looked at Natsu and felt sympathetic. Natsu looked crushed after Loke said what he said, but he didn't have any choice. Lucy wanted to protect her baby no matter what, even if it meant hiding it from Natsu. As much as Loke wanted to tell Natsu, he didn't want to betray Lucy. "Just what I said. I don't know."

"Lucy didn't tell you?" Natsu asked, a little confused that Lucy wouldn't tell her most trusted spirit something as important as who was her baby's father.

Loke shook his head. "Lucy didn't want anyone to know who the father was in order to protect her child. So she kept it a secret, even from me." Loke looked at Natsu and saw that the pink haired mage was upset. Loke felt bad, but there was no other way than this.

Natsu turned back to his fists and stared at them. He couldn't believe that Loke didn't know anything more about Lucy's pregnancy. Natsu was hoping that maybe…but that would be impossible. If he was the father, he would have had made love to Lucy first, and that never happened. He closed his eyes and sighed. As much as he loved Lucy and as much as he wanted to be the one to embrace her, for all he knew, Lucy could be in love with someone else and that person could have fathered her baby. Just thinking of Lucy with someone else made Natsu's possessive side stir up, and before he knew it, flames danced on his fists. He had to extinguish them before he set the cot on fire, and then he would have to explain why he let his fire go out of control.

Loke stared at Natsu's flames, a little surprised that Natsu let them flare up like that, but then understood that Natsu wasn't in his right mind at the time. If he was in his shoes, Loke might have reacted the same way. After Natsu put is flames out, Loke sighed, feeling really bad for his friend.

The room was silent for a while, and the air was tense between the two. After a while, Porlyusica came in the infirmary to check on both Loke and Natsu. She first went over to Loke, checking his temperature and his body. "Your body is still weak from what happened to you. You need to rest. Get some sleep. All of this excitement and planning a retaliation is not good for your health," she said plainly. Then she walked over to Natsu, checking his body as well. She was a little surprised and said, "For some odd reason, your body seems to be getter better at a much faster rate. But you still need rest."

Natsu looked at the pink haired old woman and said, "Is it okay if I rest somewhere else?"

Porlyusica, and Loke looked at Natsu with a confused face. "Where would you go?"

Natsu just stared at her with an expressionless face. "Somewhere where I can be alone. It's too noisy here."

"Hmph. I wish I could be alone, but I'm here to help Makarov. If something were to happen to you while you were alone, how could I get to you?" Porlyusica said.

"You don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine," Natsu responded and gave a big grin to reassure the old lady.

Porlyusica sighed, knowing how stubborn Fairy Tail mages were, and knowing that arguing the young man down was futile. "Do whatever you like, but don't come crying to me if something happens to you. Figure it out on your own." Then Porlyusica walked out of the infirmary in search of Makarov.

When the old lady was gone, Natsu's smile dropped from his face, and his mask was expressionless. He got out of the cot, put on his clothes that were folded neatly on a chair next to him, and walked to the door of the infirmary.

"Don't do anything stupid, Natsu," Loke said.

Natsu ignored the spirit and walked out of the infirmary. He hurried past everyone and ignored their concerns and their questions of where he was going, and walked through the doors of Fairy Tail.

(********)

Loke sat on his cot, combing his hands through his hair. He wanted to scream out all of his frustration, but he knew that he couldn't. He looked up at the ceiling and tried to reflect on what just happened.

Natsu looked broken after hearing that Loke didn't know who the father of Lucy's baby was, and it hurt Loke to lie to him. He wanted to tell Natsu. He wanted to tell him so bad, but then what would Natsu do? Most likely, he would storm off to Master, demanding that he go after Lucy right away because she was having his baby. Then the whole guild would find out that Lucy was pregnant with Natsu's kid and they would back Natsu's play all the way, not thinking straight or making any plans. And even if Master refused, which would be highly unlikely, Natsu would leave on his own anyway, not caring about the consequences. He wouldn't think about the rest of the guild and would put them all in a tight position.

_I did the right thing, _Loke kept telling himself. Also, if he told Natsu the truth, he would have to tell Natsu about the night Lucy conceived his child, and Loke really didn't want to tell Natsu about his intimacy. It would just piss Loke off because Natus only slept with Lucy because he was drunk. Natsu didn't remember a thing while Lucy was burdened with the remembrance. Even though it wasn't completely Natsu's fault, Loke couldn't help but be mad at the dense dragon slayer.

Loke sighed. Even if he was mad at Natsu, that dunce cap still had a right to know about his own baby, but Loke couldn't go against his master's wishes, even if telling might be the noble thing to do.

Suddenly, Loke's eyes widen in shock as he heard a gasp of breath coming from one of the cots to his right. Before he could even assess the situation, he heard another gasp of air and then another, followed by coughing and heavy breathing. "Where am I?" one of the voices said hoarsely.

Loke turned to face his comrades and was extremely shocked. "Master!" Loke shouted, trying to get the guild's attention.

(********)

It was dark out as Natsu walked the streets of Magnolia. His feet were guiding him while his brain was thinking of Lucy. Wherever she was, it was nighttime too. He hoped that she was safe. He hoped that her baby was safe too. Just thinking about Lucy's baby ticked him off. Not because she was pregnant, but because she was keeping the father a secret. Why was she taking on the burden by herself? Didn't the father have a right to know? Didn't _he _have a right to know? Even if he wasn't the father, he felt he had a right to know. He was her best friend…even though he knew that he wanted to be more than that. He loved Lucy, and to him, that meant he needed to know everything about her, even if she didn't feel the same way about him. His possessive side roared. For some reason, he had the urge to beat the shit out of whoever knocked Lucy up without his permission. His possessive side wasn't going to be satisfied until he did so, but first he needed to figure out who the guy was.

Natsu stopped walking and looked up and the building he was standing in front of. Without consciously thinking, he walked to Lucy's house. He walked to the side of he building and climbed into her house through the window.

Entering Lucy's house felt different this time. Before, he always felt happy climbing through her window and plopping down on her very comfortable bed for a nap if Lucy was gone, or climbing through her window to see Lucy cooking food in her kitchen, expecting Natsu's arrival. It was always a cheery place to come to, a place where he felt warm. Now was different.

Lucy's house was dark and gloomy. Her furniture was still in the same spots, but there was no warmth. Without Lucy's presence, her home felt dead. Natsu walked over to her desk and moved his hand along the wood surface. This was where Lucy spent most of her time writing her book. This was also the same desk where he found her good-bye letter. He sighed and moved over to where her bookcase was, looking at all of the books she left behind. He couldn't help the smile on his face as he realized how amazed he was that Lucy read, and sometimes reread, all of those books. His smile vanished and then he walked over to her bed. He sat on its very familiar softness, not moving for a while. His eyes danced all over the room, him remembering something about Lucy from every little thing that he saw.

For a while he just sat there looking over the empty space, but then he decided to lie on her bed, taking one of her pillows in his arms and hugging it tightly. He sniffed the pillow, accepting Lucy's vanilla and sunshine scent into his lungs and committing it to memory. "Lucy…" he whispered into the pillow. "I wish you were here in my arms."

Then the place was silent. Natsu just lied there, hugging the pillow tight, thinking about his precious Lucy.

(********)

"_Do you ever want kids?" Natsu asked. Lucy's frozen face wasn't the reaction he was looking for, but he found it funny anyway. She looked at him over the picnic they were having, and she looked a little confused. Natsu stopped laughing and sighed. "That question is not meant to confuse you, Luce. It's a question that people think about when they are talking about their futures."_

"_But since when were we talking about our futures?" Lucy responded. She recovered herself, and continued to eat the food that she had in front of her. _

_Natsu already finished his food, so his mouth was free to talk about anything and everything. "It's true, we weren't talking about our futures, but I'm always thinking about it," he said._

"_Thinking about what?" Lucy asked. Her face said that she was genuinely curious, and she even put her food down and looked up at Natsu._

_Natsu grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really know. I guess a lot of things."_

"_Like?" Lucy pushed._

"_Like…will the day come when I beat Erza? Will I become an S-Class Mage?" Then his voice got a little more serious and his eyes got a little sad. "Will I ever find Igneel?" He looked down at his hands and balled them into fists. _

_Every time he thought of his father, he couldn't help but get emotional, but he didn't want to cause problems, so he just balled them into his fists. Then suddenly, he saw Lucy's hands move over his own. He looked up at her and saw her smiling face. "Of course you'll beat Erza and become an S-Class Mage. And of course you will find Igneel. I'll be there for you every step of the way, Natsu." Lucy soothed circles on Natsu's hands, and it made the dragon slayer smile. He didn't expect Lucy to comfort him, but was glad that she did. When Natsu was back in good spirits, she gently pulled her hands away and went back to sitting in her own spot. "Besides, what does all of that have to do with your question earlier?" she asked._

_Natsu grinned wider and said, "Oh, well when I think about finding Igneel, I always remember how great a father he was to me, and I start to hope that I'm a good father like him. Then I question if I even want kids."_

"_But what does you wanting kids or not have to do with me?" Lucy asked. _

_A gust of wind blew the napkins away from the picnic blanket and Lucy rushed over to pick them all up from the ground. Natsu sat on the picnic blanket, smiling sadly at Lucy's question. _I guess it would be weird if it had something to do with you, huh Luce, _he thought to himself._

"_Hey. Are you going to sit there and not help at all, Natsu?" Lucy asked "Get your butt over here."_

"_Aye sir!" Natsu shouted and ran over to help Lucy pick up the blown away napkins. _

_After they got everything, they returned to the blanket. Lucy looked up at the sky and saw the dark clouds rolling in. "Maybe we should pack it in. It looks like it's about to rain."_

_Natsu looked up and then nodded. "Yeah, and Happy should be back at the guild with Wendy soon." _

_They started to pack up and Natsu was putting away the left over food. "I wouldn't mind having kids."_

_Natsu paused. He looked up and saw Lucy staring at him with her big, chocolate colored eyes. "What?" he asked._

_Lucy smiled bashfully. "I said I wouldn't mind having kids someday." Her cheeks were red and it made Natsu really happy to hear her say that. Then Lucy's face turned a playful serious. "But it has to be with someone reliable. Someone I can depend on and someone who is determined to be there for me and our kids. I don't want to have babies with someone who would neglect his responsibilities, and most importantly…" Lucy paused and her face softened. Natsu saw that behind her eyes was a pinch of sadness, even if her face was gentle. "Most importantly, I want the father of my kids to be a father to my kids. Work must never be in the way of him loving them and playing with them and taking care of them. No matter what happens, they must always come first in his eyes." Lucy smiled and then looked away from Natsu. She continued to clean up their picnic._

_Natsu just stared at her. Hearing Lucy say all of that brought pleasure to his heart. He wanted to jump for joy or grab Lucy into a tight hug, but he restrained himself, thinking that she might think him weird for doing either one. He helped her clean, all the while thinking of what Lucy said. _I would think of nothing but my kids, and teach them dragon slayer magic like Igneel taught me. I may not be responsible, but I know that I could be reliable. I would never turn my back on my kids, like Igneel did to me… _He looked at Lucy, _or like your father did to you. No matter what, my kids would be my life…but they would be tied with you for being first in my life, Luce. _Natsu paused, wondering why he was all of a sudden thinking about having kids with Lucy. It was weird, but ever since that day when Lucy told him what kind of guy she wanted as a life partner, he couldn't stop thinking about him being with her. _But, would she ever consider being with me? And why do I want her to be?

_Natsu stood up and looked at the trees that were swaying in the wind. He couldn't understand why he was feeling this way, and wanted to ask someone if they knew why. "Natsu! I'm gonna leave you behind." Natsu turned to see Lucy heading back to the guild. "Come on, I don't want to be out here when it rains," she shouted._

_Natsu looked at her, and he sighed. _What's happening when I'm around you, Luce? _he asked himself. Then he pulled it together, put his famous grin on and ran after Lucy. He decided to just forget about all of his confusion for now and enjoy Lucy's company._

(********)

Natsu felt like a real idiot because he just realized that he always had feelings for Lucy, he just didn't know. All of the confusion he was going through whenever Lucy was around was just his heart telling him that he was in love, but he was too dense to notice until after his beloved was gone. _Great, Natsu, _he thought, burying his face deeper into Lucy's pillow.

Natsu rolled over to stare at the ceiling above Lucy's bed and something else came to mind. _I need to know whose baby Lucy is carrying. _Thinking about that specific memory made Natsu a little hurt. Lucy was pregnant and he couldn't have been the father. He wished he was, but he would have definitely remembered a night of passion with Lucy. He couldn't help also feeling a little jealous. Someone else touched Lucy in ways he only dreamed of. Someone else took Lucy's lips with theirs, touched Lucy's body with their hands, saw Lucy's body with their eyes. Thinking about that made his possessive nature roar with annoyance. For some reason, he wanted to find the son of a bitch and murder him. For the first time, Natsu wanted to actually murder someone. _How dear he do that to her? To My Lucy? _Natsu was getting angry and realized that he needed to calm down or else he would set the whole place on fire, and that was the last thing he wanted to do to Lucy's place.

He took deep breaths and inhaled Lucy's scent from her pillow. He finally calmed himself and decided that it wasn't wise to get riled up in Lucy's house. If he burned it down, she would have no home to return to.

Natsu heard a sound by Lucy's window and turned in its direction. The window was pushed open and Happy flew through it. "Natsu!" the blue exceed shouted.

Natsu sat up, still holding Lucy's pillow in his arms and looked at Happy in confusion. "What's wrong Happy?" he asked.

"I knew you would be here," Happy said, flying over to Natsu with an excited face.

"You came looking for me?" Natsu asked.

The exceed nodded. "You have to come back to the guild right away, Natsu."

Natsu just looked at Happy still confused. "What's going on?"

"Erza, Gray and Lisanna are awake."

Natsu's eyes grew wide at the news of his friends waking up after being unconscious for so long. "When did they wake?"

"Not long after you left. They woke up one after the other. Now that they are awake, Master thinks its best to tell them what's going on so that we can hurry and prepare to go after Lucy. Everyone needs you back at the guild Natsu."

Natsu's eyes were still wide, but this time with excitement. He was glad that they were awake because now, he didn't have to wait long to go after Lucy. He grinned big and hopped out of Lucy's bed. Before he put her pillow down, he took one more sniff and kissed the pillow gently. He placed in on Lucy's bed, turned to his best pal and said with a grin, "Alright Happy. Let's go and get Lucy back!"

"Aye sir!" Happy replied, grabbing onto Natsu and flying them both out of Lucy's house and back to the guild.

* * *

AN: Like I mentioned before, don't be discouraged that Natsu didn't burn down Fairy Tail or something drastic. In this fic, Natsu is somewhat mature, so he had to be level headed, but that doesn't mean that he's not going to explode. Something will happen and you guys will get to see this fire dragon slayer lose it. But you have to stay tuned! I hope you guys enjoyed those three chapters, and please please PLEASE...R&R!


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Hi, everyone! I know it's been more than a month and for that, I apologize. I have a very hectic schedule and am busy almost 24/7.

Anyway, here is chapter 13! Before in chapter 11's footnote, I said that chapters 13 and 14 will be extra exciting, well I meant 13, 14 and 15.

As always, I would love for you guys to read & review. If I don't get feedback, then I will never improve.

Also, a special thank you to my new editor! ;)

**Disclaimer: **Do not own Fairy Tail.

* * *

**Lucy's POV:**

Red orange burned behind my eyelids, letting me know that there was light somewhere around me. I opened my eyes with a flutter. At first I couldn't make out my surroundings, but then things became clear. I was staring at the ceiling, which seemed closer than I was used to. It was wood, which was weird since the hotel wasn't paneled with wood…

I sat up quickly, regretting my action because my head started to spin. When the dizziness subsided, I looked at my surroundings. It wasn't the hotel.

I was lying on a bed in a room that had wood floors, walls, and ceiling. The room was pretty small, but it was still able to hold a table and two chairs. There was a hand woven rug on the floor and a small bookshelf against the wall furthest from me. I turned my head to my left and was facing a window. It was small, but I could still see out of it, and it looked like it provided the light in the room during the day. I looked back at the room and wondered where I was.

My mind was a little hazy, but I remembered fragments of my dream. _No, not a dream. It was real…_

I gasped and stared straight ahead, looking at nothing in particular. Tears streaked down my face as I placed a hand on my stomach. "My Tenjin…" I whispered softly to the air. I smiled and giggled for a moment, and then looked down at my flat tummy. "You're real, aren't you?" I said to my stomach. I rubbed soothing circles with my hand and couldn't stop smiling. "I'm so glad I met you…my baby." I was happy in that moment. A lot happened that I couldn't explain and that scared me, but for that moment, knowing that I met my son made me forget the dangers that I was in.

I sighed, let my hand drop from my stomach and looked back to my surroundings. My eyes stopped at the bookshelf, and I was a little curious. Without much thought, I got off the bed and walked over to it. It was filled with books about magic, all different kinds of magic. There was one in particular that caught my attention. It was called _Force Fields. _I took the book out of the shelf to examine it. The cover was blank except for the title, and the book was a dark blue. I flipped through the pages and saw that they were worn out, and it looked like someone was writing notes along them. That made me more curious.

Before I could read anything further, I heard a door outside of the room open and close. My heart jumped. I put the book back in the shelf and ran lightly back to the bed. When I lied back on it, I closed my eyes and pretended that I was asleep, just in case anyone came in the room to check on me.

As if right on cue, the room door opened and footsteps were heard walking through the room to the bed. I kept my eyes shut and tried to make my breathing sound normal.

"I can't believe she's still sleeping. I thought you said that she would be up by the time we got back, boss? It's been a week," a man said with a lethargic voice.

Someone stepped closer to the bed, and I closed my eyes tighter, hoping that whoever it was didn't notice. The person got close and then a moment later, walked away saying, "She'll wake when she's ready. Let's not disturb her, Rex." His voice was deeper than the other guy's, and it sounded naturally soothing.

Footsteps led outside the room and then the door was closed. I counted to ten, and then I opened my eyes and turned to face the room. It was empty and I exhaled the built up air I was holding on to. I put my hand to my chest and waited until my heart calmed. _Who were those men? Were they the ones who kidnapped me? _I thought to myself. _And did he say a week?_ My heart skipped a beat at the thought of me sleeping for a week. How was that possible? I looked down at my clothes and saw that I was wearing the same clothes I remember wearing with Loke. That only meant that I hadn't showered in a week, which was not cool. How did I get nourishments in me? _What about Tenjin?_ I put my hand on my stomach and rubbed softly. _I hope you're okay,_ I thought. I looked up again and looked around the room. It seemed calm and serene. Nothing at all like a kidnapped scene. And those men didn't seem like they were bad or anything. Even though they didn't bother me while I was in the bed, I couldn't make heads or tails of them, and I didn't want to stick around and wait for them to come back.

I got off the bed and went to the window. It was small, but it was big enough for me to get through. I opened it carefully, trying my hardest for it not to make a sound. When it was opened, I climbed through, not bothering to close it back down, and stumbled on to a soft patch of grass. I straightened myself immediately and clung to the outside wall. For a moment I was completely still, listening to make sure that no one was around me, just in case my eyes didn't pick up something, and when I was sure I was in the clear, I took off running.

Outside of the place I was taken to, there was a huge forest. Even though I was running with everything I had in me, I noticed details about it. The forest was different than the one back in Magnolia or the one right before Cinder Village. This forest seemed condensed. Running through it was tricky, since I had to maneuver through the vast amount of trees and the spongy floor, but I didn't care about the difficulty. I had to escape.

I ran for what I would guess to be ten minutes straight, and my body told me that I needed to stop and take a breather. I slowed down and then came to a stop when I found a collapsed tree. I sat on the trunk and tried to drink in as much air as my lunges needed.

While I was resting, I examined the forest. It was green…very green. And the trees were so tall, they seemed like they were going on forever. It was hard to see the sky through the leaves and branches, but light seemed to pass through and brighten up this packed woodland. The ground was unusually soft and the grass was really thick. Plants also grew tall, as if they were shields, and they blended in with the greenery. The only other color I saw besides green was patches of brown tree trunks that weren't suffocated by moss.

This place was weird, but what I found weirder was, for the whole time that I was sitting down, which was several minutes, I didn't see or hear any animals. Not even an insect. The only forms of life in this forest were plants, the trees and me. So weird…

My panting stopped and I could breathe normally, so I decided that it was time to move again. I got off the tree and headed in the opposite direction of were I came. I didn't think it was necessary to run, so I walked.

As I strolled through the forest, I couldn't help but think of what Tenjin told me in my dream.

"…_when you wake up, don't be afraid of the people who kidnapped you."_

That's what he told me. And he even said that he would never put my life or his in danger, but how could I not be afraid? Granted, they didn't harm me while I was sleeping or while they came in the room to check on me, and they didn't feel evil. Even so, they took me away from Loke, and although Tenjin said things would be explained, I was worried and scared. Naturally, the first thing I would do is run away. There was no other option for me.

"You could have stayed."

My legs stopped moving and my heart almost exploded in my chest. My eyes grew wider and I turned around to see who spoke those words.

There was no one behind me and I looked all around, but still I couldn't find anyone. My heart beat fast and my hands started to clam up. I was scared and I couldn't move.

That was when I heard a snap in the forest. I turned my head towards the sound. Again, there was nothing there. I knew that sound came from someone, which meant I was being followed.

I put my hands on my stomach protectively and took off running. _Mommy hopes this doesn't put pressure on you, my Tenjin, _I thought while I ran through the forest once more.

It had to be the guys who kidnapped me. Who else would have known that I was in this forest? Unless…

Without thinking, I stopped running and my eyes grew big. _It couldn't be…_

I looked all around me frantically, hoping that I was just being paranoid, and tried to see anything out of the ordinary. As if I could see them…

_**Shadows live everywhere, so when you think you're safe, you're not…**_

How could they have found me here? And if they knew that I was here, it only means that the people who kidnapped me were in fact working with Shadows of Darkness. I wasn't safe no matter where I went, and I couldn't run because they would find me. _Fuck that…There's always a place to run to._

My feet took off again, and I was running at a speed faster than before. The woods sped by me at a blur and I couldn't really see what was in front of me. Even though it was dangerous, I didn't care. The people who were after me and my baby were more dangerous than me bumping into a tree.

All I cared about was getting me and Tenjin to freedom.

It seemed like I was running for a while without hearing any noises, besides the ones I made from running over leaves or running into bushes and twigs. I slowed my pace a little to catch some air in my lungs, but I didn't stop running.

Then I saw a clearing in between the trees in front of me. It was still a ways to go, but it looked like the clearing led to the end of the forest. With a smile on my face and a skip of my heart, I started to run heavily again, like I was running the last bit of a marathon. The gap in the trees was my freedom.

I was a few feet away from the clearing when a heavy wind blew, and the leaves that were on the ground took flight in the air, and not just a few leaves. It was like a tornado. They blocked my sight of the clearing and I had to stop running and cover my face with my hands, and wait for the leaves and the wind to die down. It took a moment, but the wind eventually calmed, and the leaves were no longer attacking me. I removed my hands from my face and looked in front of me.

There in front of me stood a man. He was tall and lean, with long golden hair that was in a ponytail down his back. He was wearing a white vest with no undershirt on, leaving his exposed abs for the world to see… sort of like Natsu. He wore black pants and black combat boots. His hands were in black gloves and there was a white headband on his forehead. He stood in front of me with his arms crossed, eyes closed and he was leaning on a tree. Seeing him sent my heart racing and my eyes grew wide.

I didn't know how he got in front of me so quickly, or how I didn't even hear him make a sound throughout the forest, but what I did know was that this man wasn't here to play around. I could sense that from him.

I put my hand on my stomach and took a step back. My foot stepped on a branch that was lying on the ground and it snapped. The sound, for some reason, was louder than I had expected, or maybe it seemed that way because ever since that man showed up in front of me, the forest got even more silent than its already unusual silence.

The moment the branch snapped, my eyes were trained on the man, seeing if the sound would trigger him to move, but he didn't. He stayed in his position, leaning on the tree with his arms crossed and his eyes shut.

I took another step back, hoping that this man wouldn't move and I could make a quick get away. My heart wouldn't stop beating fast and I started to sweat drop. Was he one of the men who kidnapped me? The voice I heard earlier in the forest did sound like one of the voices from the room I woke up in, but I never saw their faces so I wouldn't know.

My eyes were fixed on him as I took another step back. I prayed that there were no branches, wet leaves or any other obstruction in my way because after I took another step, without looking behind me, I turned and took off running. Tears escaped my eyes without me knowing, and I cursed under my breath. The only exit I had was blocked by a man who looked bored, but seeped danger out of his pores. My freedom….Tenjin's freedom, was gone.

I kept running, trying not to run back into the direction I escaped from, and hoped that another gap would appear soon. I needed to get out of this forest and get back and find Loke. I thought I had ten months to find a place where no one would find me, Shadows of Darkness and Fairy Tail alike, but I guess the shadows saw through my plan and decided to keep me guarded. I wouldn't be able to live like this for ten months.

"_Just stay calm and think about what you're doing."_

I stopped abruptly, almost falling down on the ground, at the sound of that voice. "Tenjin?" I said out loud.

Silence.

I scanned the area around me before I looked down at my stomach, confused as to why he would talk to me outside of my dream. "Tenjin? Are you trying to tell me something?" There was no sound. Not in my mind and not in the forest. I looked up, thinking that maybe I didn't hear his voice at all. _I think I'm going crazy. I need to get out of this damn forest._

I looked behind me and saw nothing but trees, so I decided to brisk walk instead of run. My lungs were burning and I couldn't stop panting, but I had to keep moving.

After walking through the forest for a while, I heard distant noises. I didn't know where they were coming from, but it didn't sound like forest noises, so I decided to follow it.

The further I walked, the louder the noises became. I couldn't help thinking that there was an exit to the forest after all. I began to pick up my pace, jogging in excitement. It didn't take long for me to see light creeping through a gap in between the trees, and I couldn't help the grin that spread on my face. Finally, there was a way out. I could taste the freedom.

I started to run like crazy, not allowing anything, or anyone, to stop me this time. The gap grew bigger and bigger, and so did my determination. My legs ached and my lungs were killing me, but freedom was so close that I didn't care.

I was a few feet away and my legs were on fire. My heart skipped once, twice in the chance that I would be stopped this time, but then I crossed the threshold between the forest and the bright gap and stumbled onto pavement.

The moment my feet touched the pavement, my legs gave out and I crashed hard onto the floor. My breathing was heavy and I was sticky from the sweat, but I couldn't help smiling. I was finally out of that forest. I closed my eyes and thanked Mavis for my escape.

I rested for a few minutes to calm my body before I looked up at the area in front of me. I was lying on a road that led to a town that was a few miles away from where I was. I smiled bigger as I saw the outskirts of the town, and realized that the noises I was hearing were coming from the distant town. "We're almost there baby. Just hang on a little longer," I whispered as I patted my stomach.

I tried to stand up, which was a bit of trouble, but I managed after several minutes. Without looking back, I walked on the road and headed for the town. The sun was high in the sky and the heat was bothersome. As if luck was on my side, I saw a man driving a carriage on his way to the town. I jogged a little bit to reach a point where he could hear my voice, and when I was in a good position, I yelled with everything in me. "Please stop! I need some help! Sir!"

The man looked behind to see me, and slowed his carriage. I smiled and jogged the rest of the way to him. When I eventually caught up to him, I was out of breath. He stepped off of the carriage and came to my side, putting a hand to my bent over back. "Miss are you okay?" he asked me.

With my hands on my knees, my harsh breathing and my dirty clothes, I would think to anyone I looked horrible. I gazed up to his worried face and smiled, which visibly confused him. I shook my head and said, "I'm fine now, thanks to you."

The man blushed a little bit and took a step back. He eyed me up and down and then asked, "Are you hurt? You look like hell. Did something happen to you?"

My breathing calmed, so I stood up straight. The guy looked a little uneasy and decided to help me stand right. "Thank you," I whispered, not realizing how exhausted I was that I needed his help.

"It's no problem. What happened to you?" he asked again.

"I was kidnapped and taken to some place in the forest," I answered.

I looked at his face and his confusion was back again. "What forest?" he asked.

"The one right behind us," I said, a little puzzled that he would ask me which forest I came from. Was there more than one forest outside of the town?

The man looked behind him and then looked back at me with a quizzical expression plastered on his face. "What forest?" he asked again.

Agitation was clearly written on my face. "What do you mean what forest? It's right behi…" My words died in my throat and my eyes became saucers as I turned around for the first time after escaping, and tried to get a glimpse of the forest I left behind. The only problem was there was no forest left behind. There was nothing but fields of grass. "What the hell," I whispered. "It was right there."

The man looked where I was looking and was just confused. He looked at me again and said, "Maybe the sun got you a little delirious, but there are no forests around here, Miss."

I couldn't take my eyes off of the treeless space. I didn't make up being in a forest, but there was no explanation for why there wasn't one now. _I knew it. I am going fucking crazy. All of this is making me crazy!_

The man kept looking at me, waiting for me to snap back to reality. I took a deep breath and blinked away from the field. I couldn't dwell on what I couldn't explain and decided to focus on getting far away from this area as possible. "Are you okay?" he asked gently.

I nodded and looked at his carriage. "Please, I need a ride to town. I don't have money to pay you, but I promise that I'll pay you back. I just need to get away from here."

The man shook his head and said, "No need to pay me. I was already heading that way. Having you tag along isn't going out of my way. Besides, it looks like you've been through hell and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't help you. I'd be more than glad to give you a ride."

I smiled gratefully at the man and allowed him to help me onto his carriage. Exhaustion started to kick in and I felt my eyelids get heavy, but I didn't want to sleep. I wanted to make sure that I got to the town safe and sound.

The man climbed onto the carriage and then started driving. At first we rode in silence, and then he glanced at me. "So, do you want to tell me what happened? You don't have to if you don't feel like it, but I can't help but think that maybe I could help."

Even though he helped me and it was the least I could do, I felt reluctant. I didn't want to bring this stranger into the mess of a life I lived, but I felt bad not telling him something. "It's a rather long story," I said.

"That's okay. It's a rather long trip," he replied. I looked up at him and saw that his face was calm. He wasn't forcing me into talking, but somehow I felt more hesitant to tell him. Unknowingly I put my hands to my stomach protectively and he saw my action. "Is your stomach hurt?"

I looked down and removed my hands from my belly, not wanting to explain that my hands have a mind of their own when I think about my baby, even in the slightest. "No, it's nothing."

He looked at me a little worried and then turned back to the road. "You know my wife used to do that when she was pregnant. I don't even know if she knew what she was doing. It was like her hands shielded our baby from the harshness of the world." He took a peek at me from the corner of his eyes and I couldn't help but look at him.

Tears stained my cheeks. With just one simple action, this stranger knew one of the biggest parts of my secret life. I put my arms around my stomach and just held it, crying softly.

"It's gonna be okay. I didn't mean to upset you. If you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to. I'm happy just helping you get away. You don't have to tell me anything else." He turned back to the road and didn't say another word to me for a while.

I wiped the tears off my face and looked at him. "What's your name?" I asked him, trying to say anything to breach the awkward silence.

He looked at me again and smiled. "My name is Balder."

"Mine is Lu…" I cleared my throat and sighed. "My name is Lola." _It's been so long that I almost forgot my new name, _I thought to myself.

Balder looked at me for a minute before smiling and saying, "That's a nice name." He turned back to the road and that awkward silence came back.

I looked at the road too, seeing that we were getting closer to the town, but we still had a long way to go, and I didn't want to spend the rest of that way in silence. I thought of the only thing to say. "So, you have a wife. What's she like?"

He looked at me and smiled. "Even though I've only known you for a little bit, she kind of reminds me of you."

I was a little surprised at his answer, but I smiled at how loving his face was when I brought up his wife. "She does? How?" I asked.

"Well she's very protective and determined. Just the fact that you escaped your captives tells me that you're determined, and the way you held your stomach shows how protective you are of your unborn child. Even your brown hair is the same."

I touched my hair, forgetting that it was brown at the time, since my mind has been so preoccupied with everything else that was going on. "Is that so?"

"Yeah," he said with a big smile on his face. "I hope you can meet her. I'm not sure if you have anywhere else to go to once we reach town, but if you don't, you can always stay with us. I know my wife wouldn't have it any other way."

I hadn't thought about where I would stay once I got to town, and since I didn't have any money on me, I didn't have a lot of options. Balder's invitation was very tempting, and I couldn't see a reason to refuse him.

"_I could think of a reason."_

My breath hitched in my throat and my heart started to pound through my chest. It was one of the voices I heard back in the room. _No! This can't be happening, _I thought to myself as I looked around me.

"What the hell?" Balder said as he slowed the carriage down. I turned to face the road and saw someone standing in the middle of it, dressed in a black cloak.

My eyes widened and the image of the golden haired guy popped in my head. "Oh no," I whispered.

Balder looked down at me, and he must have seen how distraught I looked, because he patted me soothingly and said, "Don't worry. I'm not gonna let him have you."

I looked at him and saw how determined he looked. I gulped and then nodded my head, leaving my fate in the hands of a stranger.

Balder stopped the carriage and stepped out of it, walking slowly up to the cloaked person. "Um, do you need help?" he asked.

The person didn't move an inch and it reminded me of the golden haired man. He didn't move either when I backed away from him in the forest. I doubted that this person was him, because he didn't have a problem showing his face to me earlier, so there would be no need to hide it now.

Balder stepped closer. "Sir, or ma'am, if you don't need help, then can you move out of the road. I need to get to town."

The person didn't move still and it was making me more nervous.

"If you don't move…" Balder began to say. Then something strange happened. His humble approach vanished and he stood up straight and tall. His stance was that of a leader, as if he was arrogant. Electricity seemed to surge around him, and in an instant he was a different person. "…I'll make you move," he finished.

"I was wondering when you'd show your true self, Balder." That voice was the same as the one I heard earlier, which meant that the cloak person was one of the men who kidnapped me. And how did he know Balder?

"I won't let you have her. She isn't your property, and giving her to you would deter our plans. I'd rather die before I let that happen," Balder said.

If my eyes weren't big before, they were huge now. _Plans? _Tears rolled down my face. I felt so foolish. Of course they knew each other. They were both working for the same guild.

"You're not very good as a shadow, are you?" the man asked.

Balder snorted. "Better than you think. Thanks to your sloppy ways of handling your precious cargo, I was able to make out a location of where you're hiding. Gotta say though, you did one hell of a job staying in the dark, even for a shade. But now that I know, you better believe that he'll know too."

"Who said that you'd get the chance to tell him anything?" This time, the voice was different, yet familiar. Before I could even blink, the golden haired man was standing behind Balder and he jammed a small dagger in Balder's back.

I gasped, and even though I knew Balder was a shadow, I couldn't help but feel bad for him, and his family. I started to scream for him to get away, but an arm reached around my left side. A hand covered my mouth and pulled me back down onto my seat. I looked to my right and there was the golden haired man sitting right next to me. My eyes widened in horror. _How? _I asked myself.

"Shhh and stay down. I don't want to knock you out and risk the boss killing me. So behave, or I will risk it." The golden haired man's face was relaxed, almost like he was bored, but his piercing grey eyes told a different story. They held his seriousness in his promise, and it made me so scared that I nodded if that meant protecting Tenjin's life. "Good. The name's Rex. Now watch without being seen. He's doing this all for you."

He turned his head to where Balder and the other man were standing and I turned my head too. Balder removed the dagger from his back and staggered a bit. "What the fuck did you do to me!" he yelled. He tried doing some action I couldn't comprehend, but it wasn't working out for him. "What have you done, you piece of shit!" he yelled again.

"You can't shift into a shadow. Sucks for you, doesn't it," said the cloaked man.

Balder laughed and threw the dagger on the ground. He stared straight at the cloak man and said, "Being a shadow isn't the only way to kill you." And in a heartbeat, he charged at the cloak man.

Before I knew what was going on, shadows stretched out from underneath the cloak guy like tentacles, and he dropped into the pavement like a ghost. I gasped behind Rex's hand and watched in amazement as a cloud of shadows enveloped Balder. No part of him was seen and I couldn't tell what was going on. I glanced at Rex and his face was as lethargic as ever, but his eyes held amusement. I didn't know what to make of that, so I looked back at the cloud. After a few seconds, the cloud dissipated, and the cloak man had his hand wrapped around Balder's throat. I moved to get closer, but Rex pulled me back down and gave me a stern look. I flinched and decided to stay quiet.

"What's this? He didn't tell me that you could use shadows like this. You're better than I thought, but you're still no match for him. No matter what you do, that bitch will die," Balder spat in the cloak man's face.

The cloak man's eyes glowed yellow and he leaned in closer to Balder. "I would kill you with my true magic, but you're not worth it. Die like the shadow you were." Then the cloak guy moved his hand from Balder's throat and he started to walk to the carriage.

I looked back at Balder and saw that a shadow hand imprint was still lingering on Balder's neck, and he was gasping for air, but that didn't help. His face turned red and within seconds, he was on the ground, breathless. The shadow lingered for a moment, making sure Balder was dead, and then it moved from his throat and glided along the ground until it joined back with the cloak guy.

"How boring. I was sure he was going to reveal his true magic," Rex said. Then he looked down at me. "Maybe he didn't want to startle you yet. Oh well. That was a waste." Rex removed his hand from my mouth and stepped out of the carriage. The cloak man stood right next to him. "How do you want to handle this boss?" Rex asked.

The cloak man turned his head to me and I inhaled sharply. I backed up into the carriage as far as I could go, but it wasn't too far. Before he could move, I put my hands up in front of me as a defense. "Please. I don't know why you killed one of your own, but just let me go. You guys told me I had ten months, and I knew that you'd be watching my every move, but I didn't think it would be like this. I swear I won't do anything to deceive you, so please…" my voice left in a whisper and I started to tear up.

"This broad's out of her mind. Must be the heat," Rex said. The cloak man looked at him and Rex raised his hands in defense. "Sorry. I know she's your precious Lucy, but what the hell is she talking about?" Rex turned back to me and said, "We just saved you from that asshole. There's no way we'd be working with him."

I was confused. "You kidnapped me, yet you say you saved me?"

"Yeah, about that…" Rex began to say, but stopped when the cloaked guy looked at him. "Fine, I'll let you handle that explanation, but first we need to get out of here."

I put my hands down and felt behind me for anything that I might be able to use as a weapon. I tried to be inconspicuous, while they talked about how they were going to get me out of here. Then my hand touched a metal bar. Inside of me, I smiled, but I kept my face as it was.

"Since you won't let me do it, you need to knock her out so she won't see the way to the cabin." Rex said. "I mean I'd do it but you know how you ar−" Bang!

I hit Rex in the head with the metal bar and double kicked the cloaked man. When they were both out of my way, I ran out of the carriage and headed for the town. "Someone help me! Anyone please hel− ahhh!"

"You're really pissing me off, you know that," Rex said in my ear as he yanked my hair in his fist and pulled me back towards him.

"Let her go Rex, " the cloak man said.

"Did you not just see her bash my head in?"

"Yeah, I did, but that wasn't your head was it?" the cloak man asked.

"You know damn well that shit doesn't matter to me," Rex replied. He loosened his grip on my hair and grabbed my arm instead, pulling me back to where the cloaked man was. "You take her before I do something you'll regret," he said, shoving me to the cloak man. Then he walked away from us, leaving me to face this man alone.

He gripped my shoulders, trying to keep me grounded when all I wanted to do was run away. Then he looked down at me, even though I couldn't see his face. "Sorry about this, but it's easier to travel with you when you're unconscious. Don't panic. Everything will be explained to you," he said to me.

"_We've run out of time. I promise everything will be explained to you. I just wanted to tell you that when you wake up, don't be afraid of the people who kidnapped you."_

Tenjin's words crept in my head and I found myself struggling to get away from the man, but darkness seeped behind my eyelids and my body felt heavy…

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A/N: If there are any questions or confusions, please feel free to ask me for clearance. R&R!


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** So, for uploading after more than a month, here's chapter 14! Read & review!

Special thanks to my editor!

**Disclaimer:** Do not own Fairy Tail.

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**Lucy's POV:**

"_Wak….you can wa…."…._

"_Sheesh you damn broa…."…._

"_Hey wake up already…"_

"I said wake up already!"

"Ahhh!" Something cold poured over my face, and I jumped up, startled at the sensation. "What the hell is this?" I yelled, wiping the liquid from my face and clothes.

"Relax. It's just water. We needed you to get up, but you were out like a light."

After wiping my face clean and squeezing the water out of my shirt, I looked up. Two men stared back at me, and it took me a while to comprehend what was going on. To my right was a man with long golden hair and a face sculpted in boredom, and to my left was a man in a cloak covering his face from my view. I didn't know what to make of it.

But they looked so familiar.

At first they just stared at me, and my head must have been foggy because it seemed as if they were waiting for me to speak or do something. _Why on Earhtland are they waiting for m…_

And then my brain cleared.

My eyes widened and I jumped up from the bed I had no idea I was lying on. I ran to the nearest wall and put my hands up in defense. "Please, don't hurt me. I'm sorry I hit you, but you have to understand that it was out of defense. Please, I'm begging you don't hurt me." I pleaded.

The golden haired man, who if I remembered correctly was named Rex, sighed. "Put your stinking hands down. No one's gonna hurt you. Even though I should for what you did to me you little−"

"Rex," said the man in the cloak. "Enough."

Rex turned towards the man and exhaled. "You always kill my fun. Whatever. I'll leave her for you to deal with. I can't understand why she's so precious to you." Then Rex turned to me and eyed me up and down. "Then again, her fire is pretty crazy. Reminds me of the Titania."

My heart skipped and I inhaled my breath. "You know Erza?" I whispered.

Rex just looked at me with his deadpan stare, and then yawned. "I'm pretty tired. Chasing after you got me beat. Later." And then he headed for the door.

My eyebrows knitted together in frustration as he avoided my question. "Wait! Answer me. How do you know Erza?" but he kept ignoring me and headed out of the room. I sighed my frustration out and bawled my fists to my sides. _Makes no sense to go running after the people who kidnapped you. You'd look like a lunatic, _I told myself. Then I glanced at the man in the cloak. Even though I couldn't see his face, I could tell that he was just staring at me. It was really weird and kind of annoying, but I kept quiet. For a while, we just stared at each other. The tension in the room was sizzling and the awkward silence was rather loud. I couldn't take it anymore. "Say something, please," I said gently, not wanting to upset him.

At first, he just responded with silence, which irritated me, but then he moved. He walked from in front of me to the table and chairs by the bookshelf. He pulled one chair out from the table and stood behind it, waiting for me to go over and sit in it. I didn't move, not sure if I should trust him or not, so once again we just stared at each other, and I refused to be the one to say something first. After a moment, he sighed and said, "I'm not gonna hurt you. You can trust me."

"I can't trust anyone right now," I countered. "I don't know why I'm here and no one is telling me anything. Now all of a sudden you want my trust. You must think I'm an airhead," I said a little rough.

The man in the cloak chuckled, which startled me because I didn't think he would do something like that. I just stared at him with confusion and waited for him to speak. He held his hand out to the chair, indicating that he wanted me to sit. "I don't think less of what you really are, and if you want answers then—"

"What do you mean less than what I really am?" I fumed. The nerve of this asshole! To say something like that… I was furious. I stomped my foot on the ground and looked at him with scrutinizing eyes. "What am I really like then? You think I'm stupid or something? Let me tell you this, you jerk, I may not have been the strongest, but I was definitely the smartest person on my team back in my old guild. For you to think that I'm stupid, I should—"

"Hey, wait a minute. I don't think—"

"Don't you interrupt me when I'm talking to you, you slimeball!" I yelled. "You don't know a thing about me and yet you dare judge me based on what? Huh? The nerve of you to even—"

"But I didn't think—"

"You _did _think that I was an airhead! Is it because of the blonde hair, or the big boobs?! Huh? Do I look like an airhead because of the way I dress? And why are you looking at the way I dress? Is this why you kidnapped me you assh—"

"Luce!" he yelled at me. My breath and my anger caught in my throat and my eyes grew wide. For the first time since our little argument, I noticed his stance. His shoulders were tense and his grip on the chair head was tight. It seemed as if he was agitated, but that didn't surprise me. What did it was what he called me. He sighed and removed his hand from the chair to ball it into a fist. "Calm down and take a breath," he whispered, but I didn't know if he said it to me or for himself.

I stared at him and my heart was pounding in my chest. Without thinking, I said, "Why did you call me that?"

He stiffened, letting me know that he was caught off guard. He sighed once again and then pointed to the chair that was held out. "Just sit."

I shook my head, not sure what to do. The only person who called me that was Natsu. But now, my son calls me that too. Why did this person call me that?

He put his hands up when I took a step back and said, "It's all right, Lucy. I promise that I'm not gonna hurt you. You said you wanted answers. Well, I'd be happy to give them to you, but first I just want you to sit."

"Why?" I asked, still staring at him with wide, and now, confused eyes.

He exhaled. "Because I need you to be comfortable, because the answers you seek may be a little bothersome. So please." He held his hand out for me and waited.

I looked at his hand. He was asking me to listen to him and trust him. But why did he call me that? He never answered my question and I didn't know what to think of that. Do I trust him? My mind said no, but I was a little curious at what he meant when he said the answers I want would be bothersome. And my heart ached when he called me Luce. _What does this mean?_

Then I remembered something: _"Luce, please trust me when I tell you to not fear the people you will meet soon. Believe it or not, they are your only hope of surviving the enemy."_

That's what Tenjin told me in my dream. I looked at the cloaked man. He didn't seem dangerous nor did he seem like someone who I could trust so easily. But Tenjin wanted me to trust him for some reason, and I don't think that he would put himself and me in harm's way.

I glanced down at my stomach and palmed it. If Tenjin wanted me to believe in these guys, then I didn't see why I couldn't. I looked back at the man and then walked over to the chair he held out. I didn't take his hand, but I sat in the chair and allowed him to push it in for me.

He walked to the other side of the table and sat in the chair opposite of me. He stared at me, and it was kind of uncomfortable, so I looked at the table while fidgeting my hands under it.

He sighed. "First things first. About what you said, or rather yelled earlier, I don't think you're stupid. Nor do I think you're an airhead. And how can I base you being an airhead on your hair or your clothes when you're a brunette and your clothes are decent?"

I froze in shock, forgetting that I wasn't a blonde at the moment, and I didn't dress in my normal short skirts and whatnots. _Shit, _I thought to myself.

"And what I meant when I said that I don't think less of what you are is that I know that you are stronger than you appear."

I looked at him and said, "How would you know about my strengths? You don't even know me?"

"But I do know you, Lucy," he said gently.

I swallowed hard, not understanding his meaning, and fidgeted with my fingers under the table. "What do you mean?" I asked.

He didn't answer me right away. He just stared as if he was trying to see inside of me. For some reason, I put my hands protectively on stomach and was glad that he couldn't see it, since it was under the table. Sitting so close to him, I realized that if I looked hard enough, I was able to see his mouth and after I put my hands over Tenjin, I saw him smirk. I was baffled, but before I could say or think anything, he said, "I think you're asking the wrong questions, Lucy."

That threw me. "What do you mean? What questions am I suppose to ask you then?"

He squared his shoulders and put his forearms on the table, while leaning in closer. "You know what questions you really want to ask. You said no one was telling you anything, right? Here's your chance to get those answers you've been looking for."

I paused for a moment, taking in what he just told me and thought about everything I needed an answer for. Then I found a question that needed to be answered right away. "You took me away from the only person who was suppose to protect me. Did you do that because you're going to harm me in any way?"

I stared at him, trying to see past his cloak that was covering his face, because I needed to see his eyes. I could always judge someone by looking into their eyes, and I needed to see if he would lie to me or tell me the truth. Even though he didn't give off a bad vibe, I still didn't know him at all, and I needed to see if he really was different than the dark guild coming after me, or if he was worse.

I couldn't see his eyes, but his mouth was in a tight line, as if he was frustrated. He sighed and gently said, "Don't be afraid, Lucy. The last thing I want is for you to be afraid of me." His voice was deep, but their was longing in his words, like he really didn't want me to be afraid of him or it would hurt…._ hurt him_.

It felt like my words hit him. I didn't know why I felt that I hurt him a little, or why I felt the need to comfort him, but I did, almost protectively. What the hell was wrong with me? Why would I want to comfort the person who kidnapped me? I must be losing my mind. _That's it Lucy, you have officially went fucking crazy. Is this Stockholm syndrome?_

"I see that you're still afraid of me, even though I told you a few times now that I'm not going to hurt you. I see it's still hard for you to trust me. I guess it would be after all," he said. "What can I do for you to not be afraid of me?"

He sounded desperate, like he needed my acceptance of him. Did he know that he was giving me the upper hand here? "You could let me go back to Loke," I challenged.

He smirked. "Anything but that," he said.

_Of course not, _I thought with a grin. Then I thought of something. "You could tell me who you are and why I'm here."

He hesitated. His smirk was gone from his face and his mouth was in a tight line again.

"You asked me if there was anything you could do. I think telling me about yourself and telling me why I'm here is a fair trade," I said.

He put his palms on the table and for the first time, he looked away from me. "I know it's fair. It's just…"

I waited, but he was quiet for far too long for my liking. "It's just what? Don't I deserve the right to know why you kidnapped me? Don't I deserve to know who kidnapped me? You said that you knew me, right? I think it's unfair for you to know me when I know nothing about you or your buddy. If you want me to trust you, tell me what I want to know. What I need to know," I said a little frustrated.

He looked back at me and said, "You do deserve to know all of that. It's just I'm not sure how to start."

I huffed a sigh and folded my arms across my chest. "Well, you could start by taking off your cloak and letting me see your face for once."

He stiffened and closed his hands into tight fists. His actions confused me. I didn't think he'd get so tensed by me saying that, but he looked…nervous, or scared even. Something protective inside of me wanted to tell him that everything was okay, but I bit my tongue. I shouldn't feel protective for him, and yet my heart was telling me else wise.

It was quiet for a while. Neither of us moved, and the air was tense. Then, "Do you really want to see my face?" he asked.

I put my hands on the table and tried to make my voice sound soothing. "Of course. I have a right to know what you look like. Rex doesn't hide his face from me, so why do you?"

He paused for a moment, as if showing me his face was extremely hard. Then, he slowly lifted his hands to the hood of the cloak and pulled it down. My breath caught in my throat as he revealed his face to me. "It can't be…" I mumbled to myself.

* * *

**Normal POV:**

Natsu stood by the infirmary door, glad to see the rest of his team awake. They looked exhausted, but otherwise in good shape, especially after waking from nightmares that made them revisit the worst times in their lives.

When Erza, Gray and Lisanna woke up, the guild of course was very happy, especially the two take over siblings. They were so happy to see their little sister awake and safe. Mirajane couldn't stop crying and Elfman just hugged his sisters like there was no tomorrow.

Juvia was a wet mess all over Gray, and he was too tired to deal with her in his normal mannerisms. Happy climbed on Erza's lap, crying tears of joy that she was okay along with the rest of Team Natsu.

The guild was beyond happy, and once Porlyusica checked them all to make sure nothing was wrong with them physically, the guild told them what was going on.

The three members were beyond shocked at what they heard. Lucy left the guild because she was being targeted by a dark guild, she was pregnant, and now the dark guild kidnapped her and put Team Natsu and Loke in a comma like state to delay them from pursuing her.

After hearing Loke explain everything again, it just made Natsu more upset, and he wasn't the only one.

"Why didn't she tell us? We would have protected her," Gray said.

"She was protecting you, Gray," Loke replied. "She was trying to protect all of us. We don't know who we're dealing with, and she said that they would bring Fairy Tail to our demise if we helped her. She didn't know any other way."

"She should have trusted in her nakama," Erza said harshly. She raised Goosebumps on people's skin with her rough tone. "Fairy Tail would never give up protecting her, and we would gladly give our lives if we have to, if that meant that she would be safe."

"She knows that, which is why she didn't want to harm any of you." Loke was rather tired of explaining Lucy's motives repetitiously, and wished that his guild members would understand Lucy's choices.

"I understand why she did it, but I guess I'm just annoyed that she was in such a predicament and there was nothing I could have done to help her. When we read her goodbye letter in Master's office, I knew that she was in trouble, but I didn't think it was something like this…" Gray said.

The guild murmured in agreement.

"I, too, am frustrated. I didn't mean to sound so harsh, but my teammate is out there struggling for her life and I'm here resting on a cot. I need to be out there helping her like all the times she's helped me," Erza said a little calmer.

Cana walked over to Erza and put her hand on her shoulder. "We all feel the same way, so it's okay."

Erza nodded and then turned her attention to Makarov. "So Master, what is the plan?"

Everyone turned to Master to hear his response. He was sitting in a chair by Loke's cot, with his eyes closed. He waited for a moment and then opened them, ready to give his input. "Like I mentioned before, we will split the guild in two. Half of us go out looking for Lucy, and the other half staying here to protect the guild in case Shadows of Darkness decides to strike. The half that will be out looking for Lucy will have to break up into smaller groups, each group having a dragon slayer to help guide them."

Everyone nodded to Master's words and Erza had her battle planning face on. "Do you know who will be in which team?" she asked Master.

"I have not thought about it yet. I was waiting for you to wake up so that you would help decide. You seem to know who compliments who."

Erza nodded her head in agreement. "That is true, Master. First we have to figure out who stays behind and who goes out on the search."

"Well, we know that the three dragon slayers are already going out in the search. We also need strong people to stay behind to protect our guild. I don't mind staying behind," Mirajane volunteered.

"No, you'd be a great asset on the search Mira," Erza implicated. "If Master is staying behind, we don't need all of our strongest to stay back. You, Elfman and Lisanna are going to be searching for Lucy."

Mirajane smiled and hugged her sister, who was still kind of weak. She didn't mind staying behind to help guard Fairy Tail, but she didn't want to be separated from her siblings, and she wanted more than anything to help find Lucy. She partially blamed herself for not seeing the changes in Lucy and not being able to see that she was in trouble. She wanted to make that up to Lucy and this was the best way to do it.

"Gray, we need to hurry up and get better because we're going out too," Erza demanded to her teammate.

"If Gray-sama is going, then Juvia is going too," Juvia said while holding onto Gray's arm, much to his displeasure.

"And you know there's no way I'm staying behind," Cana said.

Then a lot of people voiced there thoughts about either staying or going out to find Lucy, and the infirmary room got too rowdy.

"Enough!" yelled Erza. "Master left me in charge of deciding who stays and who goes. Fairy Tail has a lot of great mages. That being said, the mages going out of the guild has to be able to take down our enemy with our greatest strengths. With Master being here, there is a great sense of security that the mages going on the hunt won't have. So it's only fair to take the strongest we have to go out to search for Lucy, and the rest stay here and guard the guild. Anyone got a problem with that?" Erza asked. Although there were people who did have an opinion or two, they held their breaths due to the stare of death Erza gave everyone. When no one objected, Erza nodded once and said, "Good. Now, aside from the three dragon slayers and their cat companions, Master and I will discuss about whomever else will be searching for Lucy, since it was a mistake to try and discuss it now amongst everyone. Until then, everyone just relax and wait. As much as I'd like to leave now, Gray, Lisanna, Loke and I still need our rest, so there's no rush."

"I couldn't agree more. For now everyone, let's leave these four alone to get better," Master implied as he hopped off his chair and headed for the infirmary door. He stopped by Natsu, who was unusually quiet, and said, "Natsu, if you've got a minute, I'd like to talk to you for a little in my office."

The pink haired dragon slayer was slightly confused, but nodded his head all the same and followed his master to his office.

(*********)

Once inside of the office, Makarov went and sat in his chair behind his desk and Natsu stood in front of it, not really wanting the comfort of the chair staring back at him. "What's up, Master?" Natsu asked.

"I just wanted to see if you were doing okay," Master said.

Natsu knitted his brows together in puzzlement and smirked. "Of course I'd be okay, why would you think I wouldn't be?"

Makarov joined his hands together and stared at the fire dragon slayer. "Well Natsu, there's this old saying that I'd like to share with you, if you don't mind."

Natsu stared back at the little old man, and nodded his head for the master to continue.

"Okay," Master continued once he got Natsu's approval. "A dragon rarely covets anything in life that isn't a necessity, like water or food. You get it, right.?"

Natsu held his hand to his chin, with his forefinger over his mouth and his thumb under his jaw. "Mhm…. A dragon never wants anything except things that it needs. Like food and water…maybe sleep. I get it. Is that all?" he asked his master with an even more confused face.

The master chuckled. "No, that's not all. I was just making sure you were really paying attention. I'll continue then. They say that a dragon rarely covets anything in life that isn't a necessity. He eats, he drinks, he sleeps, and he fights for survival. But only once in a dragon's lifetime does he desire something greater even than his own life. That thing he desires most is a mate and a family." Makarov grinned. "I guess that would be two things. Anyway, when a dragon desires a mate, he searches the whole world for the perfect one for him. When he acquires her, he holds her life above his own and cherishes her for all time."

Natsu had no idea what Master was talking about, but something in him made him listen extra carefully to every word Master was saying. There was something about this saying that touched Natsu deep down in his possessive nature.

"A dragon mates for life, and even if his companion knows it or not, she would be trapped forever with him. Now, most people would think that this is a good thing, if the dragon and his mate are in love, but if it is one sided on the dragon's part, it could be troublesome for the mate he desires."

"What do you mean troublesome?" Natsu asked without thinking.

"Well, once the dragon has his eyes set on a mate, no other being can have her. And if anyone tries, he would rather take her life and his own so that they may have a chance to be together in the afterlife, then let another being try to have his way with what the dragon deems his. He becomes extremely possessive with his mate. It's not so bad if his mate desires him back, but what if she doesn't?" Makarov asked while staring intently at Natsu.

For some reason, Natsu's possessive side slide over his heart and squeezed it real tight at the thought of Lucy not loving him back. He wasn't even really thinking about that until Master brought up this saying. Natsu put his hand over his heart and asked, "What will happen if he doesn't get that love in return?"

Master glared at Natsu for a moment and then sighed. "The dragon can become destructive to anything or anyone in his path, and that includes the ones he cares most about."

"Why are you telling me this Master?"

"Because you're a dragon who desires a mate, and I don't want to see you become destructive."

Natsu stared at the master with a shocked expression. Natsu recently realized his love for Lucy, so it was a little surprising to see that the master knew it too. Natsu closed his eyes and exhaled the built up air from his lungs. He didn't know that his body was so tense from hearing Master's tale, so he waited until he was more relaxed. Then he opened his eyes and stared at Master with a stern glare and said, "I won't become destructive."

Master heard the serious tone in Natsu's voice, and hoped he was right. "How would you know? You can't predict how you'd feel in the future. What if Lucy is in love with someone else? We don't even know who is the father of her baby. You don't know how you'd react when you do find out."

Even though his possessive nature was roaring out its frustrations at the thought of Lucy with another man, having a family without him, Natsu just looked nonchalantly at Master, and shrugged his shoulders. "I may not like the idea, Master, but I would like to think that I would respect Lucy's decisions anyway. Because I love her so much, I want her to be happy, and if her happiness is with someone else, then I'd rather fight for it then against it."

Makarov looked at the pink haired mage that stood confidently in front of him. He smiled at the mage, like a father would when he was very proud of his son, and said, "Good. I'm glad to hear how you feel. Let's just hope that you don't follow in the footsteps of all the dragons that came before you."

Natsu grinned at Master and said, "Of course not. I'm Natsu Dragneel, not some old lonely dragon that your saying was based on."

Master laughed and got out of his chair to walk to his office door. "You're right. You're one of the strongest dragons I know, and you're not even a dragon per say. I guess I have nothing to fear." Then Makarov left Natsu in his office alone.

After Master left, Natsu's joyous grin vanished and his eyes became so dark. He held his hand over his chest and squeezed tight, as if he was trying to rip his own heart out. The façade he put on for Master was hard to keep. Natsu knew that he would never accept Lucy with someone else. Just thinking about her being pregnant with another man's kid nearly made him go crazy. He couldn't stand not knowing who the bastard was, but he had to keep his cool. "Calm down Natsu," he told himself out loud. He couldn't afford losing it right here. He needed to keep a level head in order for him to find the woman he loves. "It's all right. You'll be fine. She might love you back," he told himself. When he was just relaxed enough, he left Master's office and joined the rest of his team in the infirmary.

(*********)

Levy paced back and forth in front of the closed infirmary door. She didn't want to go in and voice what was on her mind, but she knew that she didn't have much choice when it came down to it.

In the shadows stood a silent dragon slayer, who watched the petite blunette pace nervously for a while. He noticed that when she lifted her head in the direction of the infirmary door, as if she was ready to go in, she would shake her head and begin pacing again, biting her nails anxiously. It was entertaining for a while, but then watching her gave him the nerves.

He emerged out of the shadows and approached the blue haired mage. Maybe he should have made a noise indicating that he was coming towards her, because she gasped and put her hand to her heart. "Geez Gajeel. You scared me," Levy said, trying to calm her already harsh breathing. "What's up?"

"What's with the pacing back and forth?" Gajeel asked out right.

"Oh…you saw that?" she asked nervously. Gajeel just nodded his head and waited for an answer. Levy took her hand and scratched her left elbow anxiously. "Well, I was contemplating whether I should go in and talk to Erza about her choices in who stays and who goes."

Gajeel huffed and said, "Don't be worried. That brute of a woman isn't gonna choose people she knows can't handle searching for bunny-girl."

"Well, that's why I wanted to talk to her." Levy began saying. Then she looked down to the floor, avoiding Gajeel's firm glare. "I don't think I would be a good candidate to go search for Lu-chan."

Gajeel didn't change his expression, but something inside of him protested. "Why would you think that?" he asked in his normal rough voice.

"I'm not as strong as the rest of you." She picked her head up and stared Gajeel in the eyes. "Trust me, I want to find Lu-chan probably more than anyone, but I don't want to let her down because I was holding the rest of you back. I could be helpful here with Master and whoever else stays, and cheer for you guys on the sideline. I just don't think a weak person like me sho—"

Gajeel put a hand up to stop Levy from talking. Although he wanted her to be in the safest place possible, just in case shit hit the fan, he couldn't think of anywhere safer than where he could keep an eye on her, which was either near him or with him. And he didn't like her talking about her being weak. She just couldn't see her true strengths like he and everyone else could. "Listen shrimp, you'd be a great asset if you stay or if you come. Just stop saying your weak all the time. Look at all the times you've helped protect Fairy Tail. Stop selling yourself short."

Levy blushed in embarrassment and looked down to the floor, leaving Gajeel's eyes to roam up and down her figure. She was small, and he was always worried when she went out on missions with Jet and Droy, but he knew she could handle her own. He just wanted her to see herself how he saw her. Gajeel started walking away and Levy glanced up and stretched her hand out to stop him. "Wait, Gaj—"

"And, if you want, I could ask for you to be put on my team, that way I could show you how big you really are."

After saying his piece, Gajeel left a speechless Levy standing outside of the infirmary door, unaware that Team Natsu, Loke and Master heard everything they said.

(*********)

The next day, Erza, Gray, Lisanna and Loke were out of their cots in the infirmary and were preparing themselves for whatever plans Erza and Master came up with the night before.

All of the guild members were in the guild, waiting for Erza to announce everything.

She stood by the bar with Master sitting on the counter. "This is what we have decided. Three teams led by the dragon slayers. Team Natsu will include myself, Happy, Gray, Lisanna and Loke."

Sitting at the same table as Gray, Juvia began to shed tears at the thought of her not being paired up with her beloved Gray-sama.

"Team Gajeel will include Lily, Levy, Elfman, Evergreen and Juvia."

Gajeel put his arm on top of the blunette's head, and Jet and Droy's faces sunk at the thought of Levy being with such a brute without them. Elfman was excited to be picked as one of the people going to search for Lucy and winked at Evergreen, who huffed and turned her head away from the white haired man.

Everyone else held their breaths as Erza listed off the remaining names of the people who will be out on the hunt. "Team Wendy will include Carle, Mira, Freed, Bickslow and Cana. Everyone else will stay here and assist Master in protecting Fairy Tail."

Even though they knew that Erza and Master's choices were logical, there were still members who weren't so happy about the decision.

Erza could hear the disappointed murmurs and didn't want people to feel dissatisfied. "Listen up, everyone. Those of you guarding our home may have it the hardest. This guild seems like the type to ambush us when we least expect it, and it's your duty to not let them win. Regardless of who is staying and who is going, we all have one goal. And that is to protect our own. We don't know what will happen. It may take us a long time to find Lucy and it may take Shadows of Darkness a long time to attack. But there is one thing I know for sure. Fairy Tail will win because we never give up!"

Her speech lifted everyone's spirits, and there were cheers and shouts heard throughout the guild of excitement and agreement. Everyone understood that they all had a role.

"Now," Master began to get everyone's attention, "like Erza said, this could take a long time, so in order for us to connect with one another, each team will carry a communication lacrima crystal. That way, not only will you be able to communicate with each other, but you can relay information back here for us."

Erza nodded. "Now, the three teams will split up in different directions, just like what we did the first time we went looking for Lucy. I've already circled the locations that we've been before right here on this map." Erza pointed to a map that was tacked to a moving bulletin board. "Even though I circled these locations, I want us to check them again. Whoever took Lucy could have taken her anywhere, so we shouldn't exclude anything."

Master suddenly stood up on the counter and faced his children. All eyes were on him. "Like Erza said, this could take us days, weeks, even months. We don't know what we face on this road, but we are Fairy Tail. The greatest guild in all of Fiore. There is nothing we can't do, no matter how long or hard it may be. We do what we must do because that is the way of Fairy Tail mages!" With his right hand in the air, his forefinger and thumb sticking out like an L, the rest of the guild shouted and copied his action.

They were ready for anything.

(~~~~)

Thoughts from the Fairy Tail mages:

_Go now, my children and bring my daughter back save and sound….._Master

_I may not be strong, but I'm not gonna stop until I find you Lu-chan….. _Levy

_Bunny-girl, we're coming. And I hope those shadow bastards show their faces. I don't mind giving a beat down or two in the process….. _Gajeel

_So this is what it means to be a Fairy Tail mage… what a guild!... _Lily

_Noohohohoooo! Gray-sama!... _Juvia

_Just you wait for us Lucy, we're coming for you…. _Cana

_Eflman, Lisanna, please be safe. Lucy, you too. We'll be there before you know it….. _Mirajane

_Out of all the people, I'm stuck with a white haired ape, a water woman and a bookworm. Freed, Bickslow, take care of yourselves. I'll do the same….._Evergreen

_Laxus…if only you were here….._ Freed

_Finding cosplay girl is a great chance for me to test out my new babies!... _Bickslow

_Lisanna, Nee-chan, I'm sorry I won't be there to protect you, but you both are strong. Take good care of yourselves. And don't worry about me. I'm a man, and as a man, I won't allow anything to happen to me or my team!... _Elfman

_Lucy, I hope you and your baby aren't hurt. I'm a little nervous, but I promise we'll find you….. _Wendy

_Mira-nee, Elf-nii-chan, please take good care of yourselves. Lucy, I can't believe you're pregnant, but I hope you and the baby are safe…for Natsu's sake….. _Lisanna

_Lucy, I hope you and your kid are safe. We're on our way… and would Juvia please stop staring at me with that gloomy face!... _Gray

_Lucy, it's my fault your in this mess for not being a better guardian. I promise we'll find you and I'll always protect, my Princess….. _Loke

_I'd be mad at you if anything happen to you, so please be safe and wait for us….. _Erza

_Aye sir! I wonder if Carle would want a fish as a parting gift….. _Happy

_Put that fish away! This is a serious matter….. _Carle

_Luce, I don't know where you are or if you're okay, but I'm on my way, and I won't stop until I find you!... _Natsu

* * *

A/N: Any questions or concerns? Please feel free to ask me! R&R!


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: **I decided to upload chapter 15 now instead of waiting because I might not be able to upload chapters for a while (crazy schedule).

This chapter reveals a lot to you guys and I would love nothing more than to hear your opinions, responses, and questions you may have (you will definitely have questions).

Oh, and someone PMed me about the time skip I said my story has. To answer your question so that everyone sees: Yes, my story does have a time skip. I know that most time skips happen in the beginning of the story, but I needed to introduce these characters to everyone before the time skip happened, and you guys will see why.

As always, R&R! Thank you, my editor!

**Disclaimer: **Not the owner of Fairy Tail.

* * *

**Lucy's POV:**

The hood was completely off of his head, and he looked at me a little wary of my reaction. He didn't move, almost as if he was waiting for me.

I couldn't move and my heart beat faster in my chest. After taking off his hood, he revealed to me a young man, around my age, with spiky strawberry blonde hair and round onyx eyes. _Just like him…_

A tear rolled down my cheek and I was stunned. Why did they look alike? Why did this guy look like my Tenjin? "Who…who…" but I couldn't get the words out.

Then the guy softened his face and looked away from me down to his hands on the table. "Who am I, are you trying to ask?" he said.

It took me a moment, but I finally nodded and said, "And why…"

The guy smirked. "And why do I look familiar?"

_How did he know that I was gonna say that? _But I couldn't voice that, so I just nodded.

He looked at me with a grin. Even his grin was like _his_. No…it was more like Natsu's. I couldn't help but stare at his face. And when he looked at me, I could have sworn that there was longing in his eyes, just like Tenjin.

"It's okay, Lucy. I'll wait for the other shoe to drop," he said.

That statement snapped me out of my frozen trance and my eyebrows furrowed in shock. "What did you just say?" I barely whispered.

This time, his smile softened and so did his eyes. He looked at me and said, "This time, you can take your time letting the shoe drop. I'm not in a hurry unlike the last time we met."

At first I looked away befuddled, trying to understand what the hell he was talking about, and then…

My eyes grew and my head snapped in his direction. I looked him over, and registered his words.

The next thing I knew, I fell backwards in my chair, trying to get away from the gravity of what was going on.

"Lucy!" he shouted and ran over to help me off the floor.

"No! No, please don't touch me!" I shouted back and got on my feet by myself. I ran to the corner of the room, trying to get away from him as much as possible, and turned to face him. "You can't be…" I mumbled and tears leaked down my face. "This is not real," I cried and covered my face with my hands.

"What did I tell you about judging a book by reality? Just because you think it can't be real, doesn't mean it can't be real," he said, with a hint of amusement.

"Stop making fun of me," I cried into my hands, finally realizing that this guy and Tenjin, were one in the same.

"Lucy, can you please look at me?" he asked.

"No," I replied.

He sighed. "Why not?"

I just cried. I didn't want to tell him that I was afraid that this wasn't real. I didn't want to tell him that I was freaked out at seeing my son all grown up. I didn't want to tell him that even though I was scared of what was going on, I wanted to run and hug him if he really was my son.

"Then just do it. You don't have to be afraid. I want to hug you too."

I moved my hands from my face and looked at him with shocked eyes. "How did you know what I was thinking?"

He smiled Natsu's grin, and said, "It's because I'm reading your mind. I don't want to scare you Lucy, and I can assure you that this is real. I will explain everything to you, so please." He looked at me with those longing eyes.

I hiccupped a cry, and without my permission, my body ran and I crashed into him. The tears rolled down my cheeks even harder. "I can't believe you're my son," I said in between the sobs.

He hugged me back, tighter as if he didn't want to let me go. "I can't believe I'm hugging you right now. I've always dreamed about this," he whispered in my ear. He sounded a little sad, but joyous at the same time.

We just stood there for a long time, hugging each other to our hearts content, but then the door opened and Rex walked in. "I see you finally told her everything. I was wondering if you'd stall as long as possible and then wait until she gives birth to the both of y—"

"Rex, wait!" Tenjin said, while letting go of me to give Rex a stern look. I was confused, but I didn't say a thing.

"Why are you getting mad at me? Didn't you tell her already?" Rex asked lethargically.

Tenjin shook his head. "Not yet. She just knows that I'm her son. That's it."

"Ooohh… well then I guess I barged in at the wrong time. Guess I'll go finish that nap, but hurry this along boss," Rex said before leaving the room.

Tenjin stared at the door for a minute with a serious face, and then he turned to face me. His expression softened and he took my hands in his. "Even though he rudely interrupted us, he's right. I need to tell you everything that's going on, and the sooner the better."

He guided me to my tipped over chair, and after picking it up, I sat in it and he pushed it in for me. He walked over and once again sat in the chair opposite of me. I couldn't stop staring at him. His eyes were still too big for his face, but they weren't like his child form. Even though they were round like mine, it suited his manly face. _Manly…. My son, the man, _I thought to myself. His hair was the same strawberry blonde and they were sticking in every direction, just like his father. And his eyes…onyx just like Natsu's. I couldn't drink enough of him in. "I can't believe you're really here in front of me," I said. "My Tenjin. How?"

He chuckled and looked at me with so much love in his eyes. "Well, I guess this is a good place to start explaining things."

I put my elbows on the table and cupped my chin in my hands, waiting for him as if he was about to tell me an amazing story.

"It's not that amazing," he said, his face getting a little serious.

"Can you stop doing that," I said.

He looked at me a little confused. "Doing what?"

"Reading my mind. Sometimes a person would like to have privacy in their own thoughts."

He smiled and looked bashfully down at the table. "Sorry. It's just that I haven't seen you in so long that I want to know your every thought. I'll stop if you want me to."

My eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean you haven't seen me in a long time?" I asked.

He put his fists on the table and looked me straight in my eyes with a serious expression. "I'm not from your time. Me and Rex came here from a future that I'm trying to change."

My breath caught in my throat and my eyes grew wide in shock. "From the future? I mean I kind of guessed something like that, but what do you mean a future you want to change?"

"When I was twelve, my guardian Kieran gave me a sliver of a lacrima that contained time travel magic in it. The man who created the lacrima was my guardian's master, and he was the last Time Mage in existence, and he put his dying magic in a lacrima crystal and hid it from the world. Before he died, he told Kieran about it and hoped that he would use it responsibly, since he trusted my guardian so much. But when my guardian got there, his bro—"

"Wait, wait a minute," I interrupted while waving my hands in front of me. "What do you mean your guardian? Where was I? Or rather the me from the future?"

Tenjin looked down at the table for a second and then stared back at me with a hint of sadness in his eyes. "You died when I was two years old."

My heart almost shattered in my chest and complete shock crept up on my face. I couldn't believe my ears. "What…"

My hands lowered to the table, and he reached out his own hands and touched mine soothingly. "I'm sorry, Lucy."

Just his hand over mine in concern was enough to ease some of the pain, but I was still shocked. "Tell me what happened." I knew knowing what happened wasn't gonna make me feel better, but I needed to know.

I guess Tenjin saw that need on my face, because he sighed and said, "I guess I started at the wrong part. In order for me to tell you how you died, I have to tell you all of the events that led up to that first."

I sighed and nodded my head. "Okay."

"Now, what I'm about to tell you was told to me, well actually shown to me, from Kieran's memories. Just like me, he can read people's minds and could enter their dreams, even their memories, and see things that have happened to them in their life. Before she died, my mom…future you, showed Kieran events in her life through her memories in the hopes that one day, he'd show me. He agreed and when I was ten, he showed me everything. And now, I think the best way for me to let you know what happened is to show you too. Just be warned that memories that are shared gets depleted down the line, so my memories of Kieran's memories of my mom's memories are probably in the basic of forms. There will be scenes or even quotes that would be clearer than others, but everything else will be basic."

As confusing as that sounded, I nodded my head and tried to prepare myself for whatever Tenjin was about to show me. He got out of his seat and pulled his chair right in front of me. I turned my chair to face him, and he took my hands in his and leaned in forward until our foreheads were touching. "Is this how you show people your memories?" I asked him.

He smiled. "Not really. I'm only showing you my memories this way because I can't get enough of you, Luce."

My heart warmed and I couldn't help but smile back at my son. I closed my eyes and felt something stir in my head. Everything went black and then…

(********)

**Memories, Normal POV:**

Lisanna came back from Edolas, and Lucy gave Team Natsu time to reacquaint themselves with Lisanna again. Lucy took on solo missions and kept to herself, hoping that what she was doing was the right thing.

Team Natsu thought that since Lucy was solo, Lisanna could replace her on their team. Even though Lucy was so heartbroken, she saw how excited her teammates were, and decided to say nothing, but congratulate them on their new team.

Lucy left the guild with her heart on the floor, and decided to spend the rest of her day crying on her bed. When she got home, she locked all doors and windows so that Natsu or the rest of her old team would barge in and see her cry. Natsu did try to get in her house, since she heard him knock on both the door and window, but after awhile, he left and she remained in her bathroom, crying on the floor. She couldn't believe her team could replace her like that, but she blamed herself. She was the one who started to go on solo missions so that Lisanna could catch up with everyone, so it was no surprise that Team Natsu would want their old mate back with them. Even if it was logical, it still hurt like hell.

That night, Lucy finally came out of her bathroom to get some sleep, which she hoped would soothe her swollen eyes, but before she could even touch her bed, loud banging erupted from her front door. She figured that if she ignored it, it would stop, but the longer she waited, the louder the banging became. In order for her to get the banging to stop, before the neighbors got angry, or worse her landlord, she ran to the door and opened it, revealing a very drunk Natsu swaying to stay straight. Lucy grabbed him and shoved him inside her home, closing the door behind her before turning towards him with a death glare that could rival Erza's. She was so mad at Natsu, yelling at him for acting so stupid, and how his idiocy could get her kicked out of the only place she had. After she calmed down, she saw that Natsu was way too drunk to go home, so she allowed him to spend the night.

Lucy was having a really weird dream, but it almost felt too real to just be a dream. It was about her and Natsu in a very intimate embrace, but it felt too real. Then she woke up and realized that Natsu was seducing her. She tried to make him stop, but her attempts failed. Natsu, even though she swore he was drunk, was too adamant and her own feelings for the dunce cap were consuming her, so she found herself lost in the moment. That night, Lucy made passionate love to the only man she ever loved.

The next day, Lucy woke up earlier than Natsu, and couldn't believe what happened between them. Her mind went into a frenzy. She quietly got out of he bed, showered quickly and headed to the guild, leaving a sleeping Natsu in her bed. As she was walking, she blamed their lovemaking on Natsu being drunk and her being too stupid to tell him no. She didn't want to further complicate things, and what just took place between them last night was on the verge of screwing their friendship up. Even though she loved him, there was no telling if he loved her back, and with Lisanna back, Lucy doubted if he saw her the way she did him.

When she got in the guild, her mind was still in turmoil and she needed something to make this situation right. Just then, she saw a flyer on the mission board. She didn't care for what the flyer said, but what caught her eye was that it was a one-year mission. She grabbed the flyer, walked past the bar and the smiling white haired barmaid, and headed for the master's office. Lucy asked Master to grant her permission to take on the mission by herself, since she needed to be far away from Natsu, and Fairy Tail for that matter. At first, Master was hesitant in allowing Lucy to go on a one-year mission alone, but then she explained her reasons to him. Master was upset that Team Natsu replaced her, but he also understood why Lucy wanted the time apart from them. Seeing Natsu with Lisanna after her and Natsu slept together would be too painful. Even though he was reluctant, he allowed Lucy to go on the mission, making her promise to have Loke at her side always. She smiled at Master and thanked him for understanding, before leaving his office and hurrying home to pack.

Before she even made it home, she realized that Natsu might still be sleeping in her bed, so she decided to go shopping for supplies to kill time, hoping Natsu would wake up and leave. Shopping was hard for her because her mind was filled with Natsu and what happened. She knew that Natsu was going to wake up naked and confused, and if he weren't as dense as she hoped he wasn't, he would put two and two together. She knew that he would be as embarrassed as she was, and she knew facing each other would be difficult. That's why she needed this mission. It would lessen the tension that will conspire between them.

While she was in the town, a mysterious old man bumped into her, which caused her and the man to stumble. She tried to grab him to prevent him from falling and succeeded. The old man, who was pretty tall and built for his age, took her hand to thank her, but held on a little too long for Lucy's comfort. Then he smiled at her, as if he was looking for her for a long time, and it gave Lucy the creeps. She took her hand back, bowed in apology to the old man, and turned away from him to head in the opposite direction.

After the encounter with the strange old man, Lucy finished her shopping and decided to head home, praying that Natsu wasn't there. When she turned her knob and entered her home, it was empty and she thanked her lucky stars. She was happy, packing clothes and utensils for her mission, until she saw a weird note on her desk that wasn't there before. She picked up the note and read it. What was on the note shocked the hell out of her.

It turned out that the mysterious old man she bumped into was rather surprised to find Lucy on the street that day, because she was the mage he has been searching all of Earthland for, and it took him long years to find her too. He called himself The Shadow King, and was the Master of a small guild called Shadows of Darkness. He has been looking for a mage with celestial and dragon slayer magic. This confused Lucy because she didn't possess dragon slayer magic. The Shadow King resolved her confusion, yet shocked her again when he explained that she didn't have both of those, but the child she was carrying did. He explained her and her baby's magic was needed for his plan to take over the world, and he would do anything to obtain her. However, it was too soon to take her, so he allowed her ten months to nurture her baby in health and then he would come after her. He also explained that if she told Fairy Tail, that he would slaughter them all with a smile. He said it would be delightful to pay back Makarov for old times sake.

After reading, Lucy couldn't believe what her brain just took in. She was pregnant, even though she only ever slept with Natsu, which was the night before. Not only that, but a dark guild was after her and her baby. She decided that the best thing to do was to not tell her guild about anything, and she was rather glad that she was going on the yearlong mission because it would give her the opportunity to keep Fairy Tail out of her situation. It would also give her a chance to try and escape from the dark guild's clutches.

Lucy packed her bags and summoned Loke to be her permanent companion. When she told him about her situation, which included everything she's been through, Loke was extremely shock and very angry with her old team. He knew that she was already going through enough, so he didn't voice his opinions. Lucy and Loke decided to try to complete the mission in less than a year, since she would give birth in nine months, and after they complete the mission, they would hide in another town and lay low.

The one-year mission was a recon mission on an unknown dark guild, and the reason it was a year long was because there was absolutely no information about the guild, except for a possible location. Both Lucy and Loke prayed that it would be an easy mission to complete in less time.

(~~)

When Lucy was six months pregnant, she collected a lot of information about the guild except for their name. It was as if they lived in the darkness. Then one day, her and Loke met a source at a restaurant and the source had some information about the leader. When Lucy heard the information, she paled and had shivers run up and down her body. The information that the source told her said that the leader was so surreptitious that it was like he was the king of shadows. That sounded just like the man who bumped into her and who was after her and her baby. She realized that the guild she was doing recon on was none other than Shadows of Darkness, the guild that was after her.

Loke was the only spirit who was allowed to stay by Lucy's side, since her pregnancy lessened her magic, and summoning another spirit might harm her physical body. She was very grateful for her spirit companion though. He was her protector in everything, and he never let her out of his sights. He also knew when it was time for her to pack up and move to another town, and this was one of those instances. Her and Loke immediately packed up from the town they were residing in currently and relocated.

They found a far away, yet weird town that was in the middle of nowhere. The town was weird because there were no hotels for them to take temporary residency. Then they met an older man at a diner who was willing to house them. At first they were hesitant, especially Loke, but they didn't have much options. Loke just said that if the man tried anything funny, he would blast a hole through him with his Regulus.

The man took them in his carriage and drove them to what they thought was the middle of nowhere, until he said something to them that made them fall asleep. When they woke up, they were in a small cottage in the middle of a deep forest. Lucy was confused and Loke didn't like the look of things. The man came to greet them good morning, but Loke was furious and demanded an explanation.

The old man sighed, and looked at Lucy. He told her that he knew her whole life just by touching her hand. Lucy froze in terror, as she remembered The Shadow King being able to do the same thing. Before Lucy screamed out or Loke went on a killing streak, the old man explained himself. His name was Kieran and technically, him and the man who called himself Shadow King were taught under the same master, so they had kind of the same power. The reason he was willing to put Lucy and Loke up in his house was to protect them. He could not allow Shadow King to get his hands on Lucy nor her unborn child or else the world would cease to be the happy place it was. He told them the reason he had to make them unconscious before bringing them to his cottage was because his home resided in a forest that was inside of a force field. The force field acts as a camouflage, but better. No one on the outside can see the forest and no life force that wasn't already here can enter without his magic.

The old man said that he was their only hope in surviving and evading Shadows of Darkness, and this would be the only place Lucy could raise her child without fear. If for whatever reason they wanted to leave, Kieran assured them that they could walk right out of the forest, but there would be no returning, as they wouldn't be able to see the forest once outside. Not seeing any reason to not stay, Lucy agreed to live in the cottage in the forest with Kieran, and Loke agreed because he wasn't gonna leave Lucy alone.

After three months, to everyone's surprise, Lucy gave birth to twin boys, one with straight pink hair and one with wild blonde hair. She named her pink headed baby Blaez Natsu Heartfilia and named her blonde headed baby Tenjin Igneel Heartfilia.

For two years, Lucy, Loke and her two sons lived with Kieran and were safe and happy. Because Loke was on Earthland for three years, Lucy persuaded him to go back to the Spirit world to regain his strength. She assured him that her and the two boys would be safe with Kieran. At first he refused, since he didn't want to leave their side, but Lucy insisted. Loke reluctantly agreed and returned to the Spirit World.

A few months later, Kieran and Tenjin got really sick, and left Lucy no choice but to go to town and get medicine for them. Kieran didn't want her to go, but he knew that him and Tenjin were in trouble without medicine. He gave Lucy a red crystal and told her that when she's ready to come back into the forest, it would guide her. Then he gave her a green crystal and told her to never take it out of her pocket. She took them both and left for the town with Blaez.

When Lucy and Blaez got to the town, members of Shadows of Darkness, who were able to track her to this town as her last known place before she disappeared two years ago, ambushed them. Members were stationed in town year round just in case she showed up, which she did. The members tied her and Blaez up and took her with them into a building.

They were tied up for hours until Shadow King appeared. He grabbed Blaez and handed him to members who were behind him. Then he approached Lucy and grabbed her from the floor. He demanded Lucy to tell him where she hid her other child, and she was shocked that he knew she had another child. She lied at first, telling him that she only had one child, which was Blaez, hoping that Tenjin not fall to the same fate as her and his brother. Because Shadow King could touch her and know about her life, he knew she was lying and decided to teach her a lesson. She didn't see him move, but all of a sudden, a hand wrapped around Lucy's neck and was choking her to death. She was loosing consciousness and all she could hear was Blaez yelling for her. Right before she was about to pass out, the hand loosened its grip, and she coughed and choked air into her lungs.

Shadow King told her that he wasn't a fool, but he was curious why now all of a sudden he could touch her and know nothing about her. He was angry that she developed some kind of technique to evade him and asked her one more time where her other child was. He told her that he needed both brats for his plan and she was going to deliver them. Lucy refused to tell him about Tenjin, and because of her actions, the Shadow King kicked her really hard in her side and told her that he could get information out of her son. Lucy screamed for him to leave Blaez alone, but the man turned around to her and blasted a dark cloud of air at her, which at first seemed like smoke, but hit her straight in her ribs and broke everything it touched. Lucy was in excruciating pain and after awhile, she closed her eyes to her son's screams and faded with the pain.

Lucy woke up to a small whisper at first, but then the whisper grew into a scream. It was Tenjin screaming for her to wake up. Kieran was talking to her too, telling her that everything was all right and that he was going to take care of her. When she opened her eyes fully, the pain came back full force. Lucy was screaming in pain, and Tenjin was crying for her. Kieran tried to ease it, but the look on his face told Lucy that her wounds were fatal. She knew that she didn't have long to live.

In her last dying days, Lucy asked Kieran to take care of Tenjin for her. She also told him that when she died, talk into her keys, which she hasn't used in awhile, and ask Loke to come and take the keys back with him to the Spirit World. When Kieran asked Lucy why she didn't summon any of her spirits, she replied that they knew she was in grave danger, and if she risked it, she might die sooner. She knew that all of her spirits cried for her, but she needed them to be strong, if not for her then for Tenjin and Blaez. She also asked Kieran to search for Blaez and rescue him from the shadows. Kieran accepted.

Lucy's last request was for Kieran to write two letters, one to be sent to Fairy Tail explaining about her death. She didn't want Kieran to include anything about her kids or the fact that a dark guild was after her because she didn't want to burden them after she was gone. She also wanted to be buried next to her mother and wanted her old guild to know that. The second letter she wanted to be addressed to her kids, telling them all about her life and all the events that led to her death. She wanted them to know who their father was and wanted them to know all about her wonderful life in Fairy Tail. She wanted them to know how much she loved them and how much she was going to miss them when she was gone. Kieran agreed to do this for her.

A week later, Lucy was gone leaving Tenjin in Kieran's care and Blaez in the care of the unknown.

(*********)

**Lucy's POV:**

I held onto Tenjin's hands tight, while tears rained from my eyes heavily. Tenjin embraced his forehead with mine, and didn't move. He just listened to me cry, trying to comfort me with his silence. "That was horrible," I whispered. "So much pain in the end."

"Imagine watching you in so much pain, being helpless to do anything," Tenjin whispered back. "I was only two years old, but I remember it like it was yesterday. That's what I meant when I said that I've been waiting a long time to see you, or hold you. You've been gone from my life for 16 years."

"I'm so sorry," I said and removed my hands from his and hugged him tightly instead.

He hugged me back and said, "Why are you apologizing? You did the best you could do to protect Blaez and me. I love you each day just for your sacrifice Lucy."

I froze and then pushed him gently from me. He looked at me confused, but I couldn't worry about that. I put my hands to my stomach and rubbed it. "Twins," I whispered while staring into his eyes with my wide eyes. "I'm having twins?"

He looked down from my face to stare at my stomach. "Yeah, you are," he said rather sadly.

Now it was my turn to look at him confused. "What's with the sad face?" I asked.

Tenjin sighed and reached to take my hands in his. "Luce, there's more I need to tell you." He looked into my eyes with a serious expression and I waited for him to continue. "When The Shadow King took Blaez, he used him in his plans, but not for what you think. The Shadow King raised Blaez to take over where he would leave off. See, both The Shadow King and Kieran were from a different era and used the time lacrima, well slivers from what ever remained, to jump through time. The Shadow King jumped first and Kieran followed him. As you can guess, the era they jumped to was the one I'm from. Shadow King searched the whole world for you, Blaez, and me and figured that if he skipped a few generations, he might find us, and he did. But you got in his way and he knew that he didn't have time left to see his plans through, so he raised Blaez to take his place. He gave Blaez the rest of his time lacrima and told him to go back in time to recapture you and us to fulfill concurring the world."

I took my hands from Tenjin and held them up. My brain couldn't function all of this information, and I swore I was going to have a massive headache and a nosebleed. "Wait a minute Tenjin. You mean to tell me my own son is my enemy?" I asked horrified.

Tenjin nodded his head. "He was brainwashed since he was a baby. He doesn't care that coming back in time and harming you, me and even himself can result in ceasing his existence. His sole purpose is to complete the Shadow King's plans."

"And what exactly are those plans?"

"If I knew for certain, I would have stopped him a long time ago," Tenjin said.

I put my hands to my head and looked even more horrified. "Wait, he's here? And you're fighting him? Your own brother?!"

Tenjin looked down at his tightened fists and said, "Any man willing to hurt his own mother…my mother, is no brother of mine."

I looked at Tenjin. He seemed dead serious with his words, no matter how much I protested in my heart. "So, why are you here?" I asked.

Tenjin glanced up at me and said, "To protect you. I never knew you growing up other than my memories, and I'll be damned if I allow the future to repeat itself. Blaez, or the Dark King as he calls himself, came back to your era and I followed him with Rex. He's the head of Shadows of Darkness now, and I am associated with a guild in this era that is run by Kieran's son DJ. After explaining everything to DJ and telling him that his father gave me his sliver of the lacrima crystal to come back in time to save the future, DJ and his guild agreed to help me."

"So, where are they?" I asked.

"Not here. This is the forest I grew up in. This is the same cottage that I lived in with you for two years."

I looked around the room, seeing the pictured memories in my head of this exact room that future me used to read to her sons…. my sons. "Wow," I whispered. "So where's Kieran?"

Tenjin's face saddened a little and he said, "By the time I turned 16, Kieran taught me everything he could before he got sick, and his old age didn't help make things better. He already told me everything about you when I was ten, but he waited to tell me about the time lacrima until my 16th birthday. Maybe two months after, he passed on, telling me to find my brother and save him. I tracked Blaez down and found out who he was and what his plans were. For a year I targeted him and then finally, he made his big move and time traveled, so I followed him. Well, me and my buddy Rex followed him."

"What did Kieran teach you?" I asked him while holding his fists in my hands.

Tenjin rubbed his thumbs across the back of my hands. It was rather soothing for me, but I bet he was trying to soothe his own nerves. "Maybe it's because you're a little younger, but your skin is softer than I remember," he said with a soft chuckle.

I giggled myself. "I don't know whether it's a compliment to me or an insult to the me of the future, but I'm glad my skin texture can get you out of your bad mood."

Tenjin's smile fell, but he kept rubbing the backs of my hands. "Kieran taught me Shade Magic. It's almost like Shadow Magic, but a tad different."

"What makes it different?"

"Well, maybe I should start from the beginning."

"Oh no. I'm way too tired for another long explanation. Just tell me."

Tenjin chuckled. "Okay fine. Here's the short version. The Shadow King and Kieran weren't only sibling disciples of the same master. They were actually brothers. And their real names were Cain and Dante. A long time ago, they learned the rare dark magic known as Shadow Magic. Together, they wanted what any person with power wanted, and that was to control the world. At first, Kieran, who was once named Dante, was alongside his brother and followed him no matter what. But then Cain went too far to achieve his goal, willing to sacrifice innocents. Dante wasn't in any position to tell his brother what he felt, so he just left his brother's side and changed his life in order to repent. He created the forest we reside in right now, and shielded it with a force field so that his brother could never find him. He evaded him for years, but always kept an eye on him from the shadows. He improved his shadow magic over the years just in case he was to face his brother one day, seeing as how his brother was the stronger of the two. His magic grown to something called Shade Magic. Like I said before, it's almost like Shadow Magic, but shades have a little more than shadows. For instance, shadows can't read minds or do anything dealing with the minds, but shades can't create shadows of one's opponent in order to defeat them."

I looked at Tenjin a little weird. "What do you mean create shadows?"

"Well, if a shadow is fighting someone, they can make a shadow of that person, which would know all of the person's magic and techniques, and makes them fight a shadow replica of themselves. It's there ultimate fighting defense, so to speak."

"And what's a shade's?" I asked curiously.

"It's complicated. Having Shadow Magic limits a person to only that magic. But with Shade Magic, all shades can incorporate it with their true magic. I think that was Dante's true intentions to improve Shadow Magic."

"Well, I remember you fighting Balder. He didn't make a replica of you nor did you show your true magic. I even remember Rex saying that it was boring that you didn't," I said.

Tenjin grinned my favorite grin, just like his father's. "Well, Balder was a lesser shadow, and another great thing about being a shade is that we aren't susceptible to that shadow technique."

"What about your true magic? What's that?" I asked with interest.

Tenjin looked me in the face and there was softness to his eyes, or maybe I was just reading too much into it. "My true magic is something I got from both my parents, but it's too dangerous to tell or show you. Not that I don't want to, but it's too dangerous for you…" he took one of his hands and placed it on my stomach, "… or us right now."

I covered his hand with my own and said, "I can't believe I'm having twins."

"I just hope that this time, things change for the better. You have no idea how I felt growing up without Blaez. Thinking that he was either dead or being held prisoner somewhere by our worst enemy, to just find out that he's been raised to be another one of my enemies. I've had it rough, and I don't want the me and Blaez in your tummy to succumb to what we've been through."

I nodded my head in agreement, and then something came across my mind. I didn't want to ask it, but I knew that if I didn't ask, it would haunt me forever. "Um… in your memories, I see me, I see Loke, Kieran, Blaez and you. But there's no mention of your father. You obviously know him, but have you ever met him?"

Tenjin looked at me for a minute with shocked eyes, but then amusement flashed in them and he looked away. "Actually, I did meet him once, but not in my own era. I'm a little afraid to tell you how, but I guess I will." Then he looked me square in the face. "I've been trying to isolate you from your team and anyone else for that matter, so that I could better protect you. Your old team came after you once they found your goodbye letter, but me and Rex intercepted them and put them in a comma like dream state. I had the pleasure of meeting dear old dad, and there was something I needed to help him realize."

Tenjin stopped talking and stared at me. I was extremely stunned at what he was telling me. "Natsu came after me? Why?" I whispered.

"Silly Lucy," Tenjin tsked. "Your team loves you, so why not come after you if they think something might be wrong."

"And what do you mean you put them in a comma? How could you?" I almost yelled.

"I needed them not to follow you anymore. If they would have found you, they would have made my job of protecting you that much harder. And that's why I needed to get you away from Loke as well. No one is better at protecting you from the shadows than me, and maybe Rex if he calmed down a bit. Don't worry," he said after seeing my dismayed face. "I didn't reveal anything to them. According to them, I was probably one of the shadows, which is fine with me. The only person who knows anything is Loke, thanks to you, and he might have already told the rest of your guild. They might be out looking for you right now."

"What?!" I was just being shocked over and over again. "No. I can't have them be burdened with my problems. I need to tell them to leave this one alone."

I got up and ran towards the window in order to climb out of it, but before my hands could even reach up, Tenjin was standing over me with his grip around my wrists. "Don't be so reckless, especially in your situation," he said to me.

"I have to. I don't want them to get hurt because of me."

"It won't be because of you, Lucy. It'll be because they care. I'm not letting you out of my sight and I don't plan on you leaving the protection of this forest for awhile, so start thinking before you act rashly."

Tenjin held my wrists and waited for me to calm down. I knew that I was acting out of control, but I didn't want anything to happen to my old guild mates. I wouldn't forgive myself.

"It's okay, Lucy," Tenjin whispered. "Or don't you believe in Fairy Tail to be safe. They may be reckless, which is where I can see you got if from, but you shouldn't doubt there abilities. I learned that from you. They never give up, even if I know they won't find you. But that doesn't mean they'd ever stop trying."

"Which is why I don't want them to look for me."

"Hey, my job and first priority is protecting you. I'm not going to worry about what Fairy Tail decides to do."

"But your father is one of them," I said desperately.

Tenjin glared at me for a minute, and then looked down at my wrists caught in his hands. "In my era, he didn't even come after you. You were gone for more than your yearlong mission, and he was off starting a new life with someone else. Why should I care now?" he said coolly.

My heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean started a new life?"

Tenjin sighed. "Forget it. I shouldn't be so harsh since I learned that he blamed and loathed himself for your death. Kieran told me." Then Tenjin guided me back to the table, and we both took our seats again. "Listen Lucy. There are a lot of things that I want and will share with you, but you have to get a few things straight. One, you are safe with no one but me, and occasionally Rex. Two, you can't leave this forest or the shadows will find you and the future I've been trying to save will repeat itself or become worse. Three, this may sound harsh, but Fairy Tail does not exist anymore. I'm glad Loke has your keys because spirits wouldn't even be allowed here anyway. I love you more than you know, so I might be a dick for sounding so harsh, but you knew your life would never be the same the minute you left Magnolia, so why not start a new life here?"

He waited for me to respond, and he pulled at my heartstrings when he said he loved me. I haven't known him for long, but he's my son. How can I not fall in love with him too, especially when he had so much of Natsu in him? What he was asking of me wasn't that hard, it was just going to take some getting used to. After a moment of hesitation, I nodded my head and said, "You're right. My life would never be the same, and I decided to alienate myself from Fairy Tail anyway. A life with my son and his rough companion doesn't seem that bad. Just know that I have a lot of questions for you and I expect a lot of answers," I said, and then exhaled the built up air in my lungs. Everything was still kind of surreal for me, but I had months, even years to get used to it. I just hoped by then, Fairy Tail gave up on me, and decided to move on with their lives, if they were trying to find me.

Just then, Rex barged in the room again. "So, did you finally tell her everything?" he asked in his languid tone.

"Yes," Tenjin said, "and no."

"What do you mean by that?" Rex asked.

"I told her almost everything."

"Well that's boring. Scooch over and let me tell her everything, since your vagina can't handle telling her."

"What?!" Tenjin said a little loud at the shocking remark.

"You heard me," Rex replied, and then their petty argument ensued.

I smiled, as they almost fought like brothers. Then I sighed and ignored them to gaze out the small window. _I wonder how long I'll be living here. A month? A year? Two? Maybe even longer than that. I just hope everyone is safe…. Natsu._

* * *

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed. I know there are a lot of confusing stuff going on, but they will be explained. If you guys have anything to say or ask, R&R and I'll get back to you!_  
_


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** It's been a while! How has everyone been? I've been super busy with my two jobs and school. I finally found some time for myself to continue my story. Now, to answer some questions I have been receiving:

Someone asked me how long I plan on making my story. To answer your question, it is pretty long. There is so much stuff I have to get through, but I do plan on uploading more than one chapter every now and again, so you guys won't have to wait to long for the story to finish.

Someone asked me if I got my inspiration from the last arc from the manga. To answer your question, I stopped myself from reading the manga so that I wouldn't still any ideas from what I have read. This story is wholly mine, but I do get inspiration from other reads or shows.

ChibiX asked me if future Tenjin comes from an alternative future. To answer your question, yes. He came back in time, which messed up current Lucy's time period, in order to change the future. You also asked if the Natsu and Lucy from Tenjin's time weren't mates and if Tenjin wanted to make Natsu realize he loved Lucy so that the things would change. To answer that, you have to read this chapter ;).

Someone also wanted to know if this was a NaLu. To answer your question, yes it is. It's slow, but this is most definitely a NaLu.

Well, I was only able to upload one chapter this time, but I promise more to come soon. Please enjoy and R&R!

**Disclaimer: **I wonder if I have to do this all the time...

* * *

**Lucy's Diary:**

_Dear Momma,_

_How are you? It's been a while since I last wrote you. My life has been crazy these last few months. You wouldn't believe how insane it's been._

_The last time I wrote you was six months ago, which was right before my life was turned upside down._

_I had a one-night stand with Natsu. Yes Momma, with Natsu. I didn't know that it was happening, but it did. I found out about it the next day when I met a strange person who's a Shadow Mage. His guild is after me for my celestial magic and for my unborn child._

_Yes, you heard correctly. I'm pregnant. But I found out that I'm having twins! Can you believe that Momma?_

_The weird part is that I found out about my twins from one of your grandkids himself, my son Tenjin. He came from the future to try and change events so that our time period won't end up like his. _

_I know this all sounds crazy, but just imagine how I feel._

_I've been living with Tenjin and his friend, Rex, for six months now. The reason for that is because they want to protect me from Shadows of Darkness, which is the guild that has been after me. _

_I had to leave my whole life with Fairy Tail behind in order to protect them, because the Shadows told me that if Fairy Tail interferes, then they will die. As hard as it was for me, I had to leave. _

_I started my journey with Loke, but that didn't last long because Tenjin and Rex kidnapped me. At first, I was terrified, but when I learned about Tenjin's time period and who he was, I'm glad they did what they did. They're Shade Mages, and if they are the only people who are strong enough to stand up to the Shadows, then I'd be safer nowhere else. And if I'm with them, then Fairy Tail wouldn't worry about me and they would be safe too, right?_

_That's what I thought._

_Actually, three months ago I found out that a group of mages from Fairy Tail has been scouring all over to find me. And I only found that out because I eavesdropped on a conversation that Tenjin and Rex were having._

_Ever since my belly has gotten a little bigger, Tenjin has been a fanatic about me staying calm and resting at all times. Because of that, he doesn't tell me anything about what's going on. When Rex goes out on the hunt for Shadows, Tenjin stays home with me, but he and Rex have late night meetings in the forest so that they wouldn't disturb me. They think I don't know that they have such meetings, because they usually have them when I'm sleeping, but unfortunately for them, I've always known._

_It kind of makes me mad that they don't let me in on what they find out, especially since it involves my life, so one day I snuck out of the cottage and followed them. I found it surprising that they didn't spot me, but thank Mavis they didn't. I overheard Rex telling Tenjin that a group of five mages and a cat was snooping around Harpy Meadows looking for me. That town is not so far from where me and Loke went when we left Magnolia. When Tenjin asked Rex if he recognized anyone from the group, Rex told him that the group consisted of two blue headed women, a white haired shifter, a big chested eye user, a black cat and an iron dragon slayer._

_My heart froze. I guess I was expecting to hear something about Natsu or my old team, but to hear descriptions about the other guys in Fairy Tail was worse. And I say worse because I didn't want any of them to be involved. If Rex found out about them, then there's no doubt that the Shadows would too._

_And from those descriptions, I had a good feeling who those mages were. The metal dragon slayer was none other than Gajeel, which meant that the black cat was Lily and the two blunettes with him were Levy and Juvia. The big chested eye user was Evergreen, but the white haired shifter could have been Mira, Elfman or Lisanna, and I didn't exactly know which one. My heart squeezed at the fact that Levy-chan was looking for me. If the Shadows got a hold of her… I wouldn't forgive myself._

_Then I heard Rex tell Tenjin that the five-man group wasn't all, but that there were other groups all over the map looking for me, and the way Rex and Tenjin were talking, they didn't seem pleased. To be honest, neither was I. _

_I didn't want to hear anymore, or my heart wouldn't be able to take it, and while I tried to make my get away, I stepped on a twig. Both Rex and Tenjin stopped talking and headed my way. Like a child, I tried to run away before getting spotted, but it was too late. They were in front of me before I could even take an extra step. Tenjin even looked at me with censure in his eyes, and at first, it stung, but then I got angry._

_I know that they were keeping secrets to protect me and make me not worry, but those were my friends putting their lives on the line to find me. And they were doing that because I left them without telling them why. Of course I had a right to know, right Momma? _

_Before Tenjin lectured me about leaving the cottage at night to go off in the woods in my condition, like I knew he would, I yelled at him for keeping secrets and scolding his own mother. Then he yelled at me for acting childish by eavesdropping, and I yelled at him for forcing me to eavesdrop because he was keeping me out of the loop. Then he yelled at me stating that he was only doing that to protect me, and I yelled at him telling him that I could protect myself. Then I tried storming off, but my foot got caught in a tree's root and I fell. Luckily Tenjin has great reflexes, because he caught me before I hit the ground, and then he scolded me again for not being careful and how he was my protector. That just started a whole other petty argument between us, and I swear it was like arguing with Natsu. When we got back home, I told Tenjin that I didn't like being in the dark about things that were happening because of me, and he agreed to tell me what he felt I needed to know. _

_Since then, Tenjin had kept to his word and told me all of Fairy Tail's activities regarding me. I've learned of all the towns that they've been to, and it seems that they were getting closer to the town that our forest rested outside of. Rex has been trying to delay them as much as he could, but Tenjin told me that they weren't going to do what they did the last time, which they still haven't told me about, but they said that they actually were going to use Fairy Tail to draw out the Shadows. I wasn't sure if I liked that idea, and I'm still not sure, but Tenjin said that it was the best way to keep an eye on Fairy Tail and hunt the enemy. _

_To be honest, Momma, I miss Fairy Tail so much. A lot has changed about me that I want them to know. Physically, my hair is no longer the brown color that I had Cancer dye for me when I first ran away. It's back to its beautiful blonde and it even got longer from when I cut it. I'm six months pregnant with twins, so my stomach is huge. And my babies are growing everyday. The other day, Rex and Tenjin got into an argument and I guess the babies didn't like it because they were doing the Tango against my stomach. _

_I found time within my six months with Tenjin and Rex to actually continue writing my novel. I can already see Levy-chan's face beamed with excitement…_

_Just thinking about her is making me sad. I really didn't want them to come after me, Momma. Am I wrong? Am I being selfish? I know that these last months probably weren't easy for them. They pride themselves on believing in their nakama, and it probably hurt them that I didn't believe in them enough to risk it all by telling them the truth. It's not that I didn't believe in them, it's just that I love them too much to put them in harm's way. But was I wrong?_

_I wonder where Natsu and the rest of the team are? As much as I want them far away from me, I hope I get the chance to see them again, even if it's for a second. _

_Momma, I hope they're safe._

_ ~Lucy_

(********)

**Normal POV:**

Lucy heard a knock on her door before it swung open and revealed Tenjin's face. She sealed the envelope she was holding in her hand shut, put it in the chest filled with letters, and tucked the chest back on the bookshelf.

Tenjin stood in the doorframe and just watched Lucy. Her stomach was bigger than he thought it would be, but she was carrying twins, so it made sense. Seeing his mother pregnant with him and his twin just put a smile on his face. He couldn't believe that he actually got the chance to experience this.

Lucy looked at her son's smiling face, and smiled back. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Nothing. Just watching you makes me happy."

"Well I'm glad you're happy, but it's kind of creeping me out," Lucy said before turning away to walk to her bed.

Tenjin followed after her and sat on the edge of the bed. "Lie down and put your feet up on my lap. I'll rub them for you," he offered.

"Thanks so much. They've been swollen all day. I didn't think they'd get this bad."

"Well, you've been on them all day instead of taking it easy like I always tell you to. Honestly, Lucy, you shouldn't be up and about all the time when you're pregnant. I can clean, I can cook, and the next time you take it upon yourself to chop wood for fire, I'm gonna tie you down in a chair."

Lucy snickered at her son's worried face. He was too cute when he was worked up because of her, but she wasn't going to let his cuteness rule her. She sighed. "Tenjin, I'm pregnant, not disabled. It's okay for me to move around and get a work out in my condition. Sitting around and lazing out might sound fun for some, but I've got too much on my mind to just sit still."

Tenjin started to massage Lucy's right foot. It was really swollen from her constantly being on it, and his hands were like magic, rubbing all the pain away. She knew that he cared for her and was only looking out for her best interest, but he was becoming a pain.

Tenjin looked Lucy in the eye and said, "You don't need to have too much on your mind. Let me worry about things for you. If you're stressed, it's not good for the babies."

Lucy rolled her eyes and turned her head towards the bookshelf where her journal was. She couldn't stop thinking about her friends who have been looking for her all this time. She was worried for them, wondering if they encountered any Shadows in these six months, or if they realized that maybe they couldn't find her and gave up. She sighed and shook her head at her last notion, knowing full well that they would never give up, even if it took years.

She looked back at Tenjin and focused on his face. Over the six months of living with him, she got the chance to really study his looks and mannerisms. He was a split between her and Natsu. He had a lot of his father's looks, except for his hair color and his roundish eyes. But he acted calm and cool, and he was very analytical and calculated, like her. She never really saw him in a battle, but she could just guess that he was like Natsu when faced with an enemy, and he had the same hobbies as she did. He loved reading, claiming that the Lucy from his time used to always read to him and his brother. And he claimed he enjoyed writing as well, even though she never saw him partake in that activity. He could also cook, which he did most of the time, and he enjoyed entertaining Lucy whenever she was bored, with whatever he could.

His favorite hobby though, was being with Lucy. He really couldn't get enough of her. He rarely was too far away from her, and he even has his father's old habit of sleeping in the same bed as her.

Lucy smiled, remembering the first day he did it. It was the second day she was with them, and she rolled over on her bed. She felt someone next to her, and her mind automatically went to Natsu. She popped open her eyes and moved the blanket from the sleeping body next to her, only to reveal Tenjin sleeping like a bear. He was snuggled so close to her, that she found it hard to breath, but all she could do was smile. Even though she used to hate him barging in on his own, she missed Natsu's warm body lying next to hers at night, and Tenjin had that same warmth. After that night, she's never slept alone in her bed thanks to her son.

Tenjin glanced at her from the corner of his eye and saw her smiling at him. He smiled back at her, loving the way Lucy could just smile for no reason, especially when it was directed at him. "Something funny about my face?" he asked jokingly.

"Nope. Just that you really remind me of Natsu."

"Do I?" he asked nonchalantly, and then looked back at his task of massaging her foot.

"You do," Lucy said, and when Tenjin just shrugged his shoulders without saying a word, she knew that she had to continue the conversation because he already wanted to drop it. Whenever she brought up Natsu or compared Tenjin to him, Tenjin would casually switch the subject, like he didn't really care to talk about his father. During the six months of them living together, he never spoke about Natsu, and Lucy didn't ask. She just figured that he would tell her anything when he was ready, but she has always been curious about the Natsu from Tenjin's time. He always talked about Lucy from the future, and even Kieran, but rarely Blaez and never Natsu. Lucy sighed. "Why do you never talk about your father?"

Tenjin paused, stopping his fingers from kneading Lucy's skin. He stared at her foot, looking serious, and Lucy had to take a breath in. It always surprised her how his serious face matched Natsu's.

The room was quite for a moment and then Tenjin closed his eyes and exhaled. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Yes there is," Lucy countered. "Something must be bothering you for you not to talk about him. What happened?"

"Like I told you, nothing hap—"

"Stop lying to me," Lucy scolded. She removed her foot from Tenjin's grasp and sat up on the bed. Her hands instinctively went to her swollen stomach, and she tried to calm her restless babies, who were kicking her like crazy, by gently rubbing her belly. They never liked tension, no matter where they were, and the proof was their massive karate kicks to her midsection. "Look at you. You look upset, or bothered. I even remember when you first told me everything that you said that your father started a new family. Is that it?"

"That's not it, and besides, I had a father. His name was Kieran. Granted he was old enough to be my grandpa and then some, but all the same." Tenjin got off the bed and headed towards the door. "Maybe you should get some sleep. You've been on your feet all day, and I could see that the babies are antsy because you're upset."

Tenjin began walking out the door when he saw something fly by the left side of his face and hit the wall. It was a book. A third edition magic encyclopedia, and it was a huge volume. "Hey! What the hell!..." he started saying, but stopped when he turned to face Lucy. Her face was red and the glare she gave him made him want to crawl in a corner and die. But as he continued to stare, he saw annoyed hurt. He put his hands up defensively when another book went flying. "Luce!"

"Don't Luce me! Why are you acting this way?! It's so frustrating when you try to act all big and tough and not realize that you're hurting my feelings. All I'm trying to do is get to know my son better, which means I want to know all of you. Your good times and bad times, and if Natsu was one of your bad, then tell me." Lucy's angry face fell and she started to cry. "Why won't you tell me?" she whispered.

Lucy put her hands to her face and Tenjin crossed the room and hugged his mother tightly. He was cursing himself for making his mother cry, but he also blamed her hormones, which he figured were heightening her emotions. Lucy hugged him back and cried in his shirt. He tried to shush her while rubbing her scalp soothingly. "Luce…please stop crying. I didn't realize that I was hurting your feelings."

"Ell oou err! (Well you were)" Lucy said against his chest.

"I'm sorry."

Lucy hiccupped her last cry and removed her face from his shirt to stare up at him. Those tears in her eyes were the one thing Tenjin never wanted to see, and it hurt him more that he was the one to put them there. Lucy wiped her tears away and said, "Tell me why won't you talk about Natsu?"

Tenjin still held her in his embrace and stared down at her. Pain flashed on his face for a second, that if Lucy weren't staring at him, she would have missed it. Then he sighed and guided her back to the bed. "The truth is I never wanted to upset you, Luce, especially in your condition. Come on, sit down and rest," he said trying to coerce Lucy into relaxing.

She gently pushed his hands away. "No. I'm not sitting down until you promise that you'll tell me why you won't talk about Natsu."

Lucy looked Tenjin squared in his face, unflinchingly. Tenjin gazed at Lucy and then chuckled, which startled Lucy. Before she went on another rant, he held his hand up and said, "I'm just laughing at your determination. Don't worry. I'll tell you what you want to know, so please relax on the bed for me."

When Lucy was unmoving, Tenjin pouted and she couldn't help but laugh, finding his face so adorable. "Fine," she said while sitting on the bed, putting her feet back in Tenjin's lap after he sat on the bed too. "But you better tell me everything mister."

"Okay," Tenjin agreed and then started massaging her left foot.

Lucy propped herself up on the pillows and put her hands to her stomach. She looked at Tenjin, waiting for him to speak, which took awhile.

Tenjin looked up at the room with a serious face on, inhaled and then exhaled, and started talking. "You died when I was two years old, and Kieran was the only person I had in my life after that. When I was ten, Kieran told me everything about you, how you met Natsu and how you joined Fairy Tail. How much you loved Fairy Tail. It was sad learning about you from someone else, but I was glad I got to know everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything. Just like you wanting to know the good and bad times in my life, Kieran felt that I needed to know the good and bad times of yours."

Tenjin glanced at Lucy and slowed his massage on her foot. His eyes were a mixture of sadness, longing, and hurt. It just took Lucy's breath away. Unconsciously, she took her foot away and scooted up to him and leaned into his chest. He put his arms around her shoulders, pulling her into his embrace, grateful for her comfort.

"Remember that I told you that Kieran told me that when Natsu learned of your death, he blamed himself?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, but to be honest, it kind of confused me. How did Kieran know?"

"Well, one of a Shade's greatest assets is the power to actually acquire someone's whole life by reading their minds. I think I told you that before. When Kieran sent the letter of your death to Fairy Tail, he actually went to Fairy Tail personally to see their reactions."

Lucy sat up and glanced at Tenjin's face. "Wait, what do you mean he went there personally?"

Tenjin smiled. "Well, he didn't go in his normal form. He went in his Shade form."

"Oh," Lucy responded, putting her head back on her son's chest. She remembered Tenjin telling her about Shade form. She actually saw him and Rex do it a few times within the six months she's been here. It always astounded her when she saw it, and she knew that she would never get used to it. When a Shade would take its form, they would blend in with all shadows around them. The first time Tenjin demonstrated it for her, he blended in with her shadow that was casted on the wall. He moved with her shadow, but in order for him to move around the room, he either needed Lucy to move, so her shadow would move, or he would blend in with all the other shadows of the room. When he emerged back into normal, he came out of the bookcase's shadow, and Lucy fell backward from shock.

Tenjin laughed at her memories, clearly reading her mind, even though she warned him not to so many times. It was a hard habit to get rid of. Lucy scolded up at him and he grinned Natsu's grin in apology. "I didn't mean to pry, but you went stiff all of a sudden, and I wanted to see if you were okay. I wouldn't have guessed that you were a little scared of Shade form."

"I'm not scared," Lucy denied. "It's just that I'm not used to it."

"Okay, whatever you say," Tenjin laughed.

"It's not funny," Lucy said while hitting Tenjin on his muscled chest, which in actuality hurt her own hand. "Stop laughing at me and continue your story," she fumed in between amusement and annoyance.

Tenjin took her hand in his and rubbed the pain away. "Sorry. I wasn't laughing at you, just your reaction. But I'm sorry. I'll continue." He put Lucy's hand to his heart and held it there. "Kieran went to Fairy Tail in Shade form before the letter was delivered. He stayed there for a few hours, gathering information from all of your friends' minds. He felt that I needed to know their pasts as much as I needed to know yours, but the only person's past I craved for was my father's."

Lucy snuggled closer for support and rubbed her belly with her hands, getting a response from one of her sleeping babies' foot. "What was Natsu's past like?"

Tenjin looked down at her stomach and put his free hand on it, feeling one of the babies' foot pressed against it. "It was happy," he said nonchalantly, which made Lucy think otherwise.

"Happy?"

"Yeah. Which is what pissed me off." He rubbed her stomach smoothly.

"Why did his happiness piss you off?"

"Because," he whispered, "You were gone and he was starting a life with Lisanna."

Lucy stiffened. Her eyes grew in her head, and she stopped breathing. Then, she looked up at Tenjin with shock and saw the raw hurt and anger on his face. "Lisanna?" Lucy whispered back.

Tenjin closed his eyes and nodded. "After you left for your yearlong mission, Team Natsu, which you know consisted of Natsu, Erza, Gray and Lisanna, did missions on their own. Happy came back, and at first, he was a little sad that you were gone, but just like the rest of them, he got over it. At first, it seemed that Natsu couldn't forget about your yearlong mission, but he had responsibilities to his team, so he couldn't worry about you. Then after awhile, Lisanna moved in with him and Happy. After a year, Natsu and Lisanna were together."

Lucy's face beamed with shock. She couldn't believe that Natsu could move on so fast, even if she, well future her, was away from her team for so long.

"You wouldn't believe how shocked I was when I saw that part of his memory. As a child, growing up all I had was Kieran. I knew of you, but I didn't know anything about your life until I was ten, which meant that I didn't know about Natsu either. Kieran was my father figure, even though I was smart enough to know that he was too old to be my dad. Even though I never said it out loud, I've always wanted to know about my real parents, especially my father since I never had any memories of him. So you could guess why I was so disappointed and felt abandoned when I learned that he moved on only after a year."

Lucy could understand Tenjin's feelings. Even though this wasn't her time, she too felt the slight pain of abandonment from Natsu moving on with his life. Even though she knew she had no right to feel that way since she was the one who left first, in the back of her mind, she always had hope that maybe Natsu would wait for her. She figured that future Lucy felt the same way.

"But despite his new relationship, he still didn't forget your mission. When I saw that, I was a little relieved. He wanted Makarov to send him to go after you, since it's been a little more than a year, but Makarov refused."

Lucy stirred. "Why would Master deny Natsu?" she curiously asked.

"Well, that part I had to see from Makarov's past memories. Thank goodness Kieran was smart enough to get everyone's memories. Around the time that you were five months pregnant, you wrote a letter to Makarov stating that you needed more time to complete your mission because your pregnancy was waning your magic. But Maka—"

"Wait." Lucy looked up to Tenjin's face. "Master knew about my pregnancy?

"Not before he received that letter from you. You also told him to never tell anyone about your pregnancy, especially Natsu, even though that put a lot of stress on him."

Lucy felt bad. Even though that never happened in her time, she still felt like she put Master through a lot by not being honest with him. But being honest with him meant being honest with Natsu, and she couldn't take that chance.

She rested her head back on Tenjin's chest and listened to him continue.

"Anyway, Makarov told Natsu that you requested more time and told him that you were safe and fine, trying to ease him, which seemed to work. Natsu let it go, and soon, two years passed." Tenjin paused to sigh. Lucy understood. Three years went by, and she knew that her guild had moved on. She didn't have to wait and hear Tenjin tell her so for her to know. "It was on Natsu and Lisanna's three year anniversary celebration. The guild seemed lively from Natsu's memories. Everyone was drinking or fighting or just enjoying themselves. It was like you never existed."

Lucy buried her face in Tenjin's chest. He suddenly went rigid and she knew he needed the comfort… or maybe she did.

Wrapping his arms tighter around Lucy's shoulder, Tenjin continued. "I didn't get the impression in Natsu's mind that he was worried about you. He probably felt that if anything went wrong, you would write them, but he could have been a little worried. Anyway, that was the day that Makarov got the letter about your death. At first, he read it, but then he dropped his beer mug, startling the whole guild into silence. Natsu was confused. One minute everyone was partying, and then the next, he looks over at Makarov and your master is looking petrified, as if he's seen a ghost. He was in total shock. He couldn't move for a while, but then he gave Mira the letter after her persistence of finding out what was wrong. She read it and went hysterical. In Natsu's mind, he hasn't seen her this way since Lisanna was thought to be dead, and then Mira dropped the letter and ran into the kitchen, having her brother run after her. Lisanna saw the letter and picked it up. She read it and looked more horrified than Makarov. That's what did it for Natsu. He rushed to her when she started crying, wanting to know what was the letter about, but Lisanna dropped it and ran to him. She was horrorstruck. I could feel her trembles from Natsu's memories. The whole guild was confused, and then Erza picked up and read the letter. She read it to herself first, going pale, which scared Natsu more, and then she read the letter out loud. The letter just revealed that you died during your mission and told where you were buried. It had no mention of me or Blaez or any of the horrific things you went through. You could just imagine how they felt when they found out, especially Natsu."

Lucy trembled a little, putting her hand on her stomach to calm herself. One of her babies gently pushed his foot on her skin, possibly comforting his mommy. She was grateful for the uncomfortable sensation.

"I think what hit them the most was the fact that they were there celebrating, while you were off somewhere for three years fighting for your life. They felt guilty, and everyone was in tears. But Natsu was the most shocked and affected. He let his grasp on Lisanna go and went to the forest. There he was all alone, and he let out a roar that could rival the loudest dragon. He couldn't stop screaming, and then after awhile, he couldn't stop crying. He was riddled with self-guilt for letting you go by yourself because they replaced you with Lisanna. He was angry with himself for not going after you against Makarov's wishes, but he mostly hated himself for moving on with his life when you were battling for yours. He just stayed in that forest for hours, crying and screaming and blaming himself."

Tears burned Lucy's cheeks as they spilled from her eyes. She could just picture everything Tenjin just told her, especially Natsu in self-loathing, and her heart ached. She never wanted to make her guild, or the love of her life, feel the way they did, and she was pretty sure future Lucy felt the same way. That was why she left without telling them the truth, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that maybe that particular way of handling the situation was a poor choice.

She wrapped her arms around Tenjin's torso and cried to his heart. Tenjin hugged her tighter. "It's okay, Luce. I have no intention of letting the future repeat itself, so please…" he whispered.

Lucy just couldn't believe how heart wrenching that scene was, but then she paused. She let go of her embrace and her eyes jumped to Tenjin's. "This doesn't explain why you don't speak of your father. If anything, this should make you ache for him." She was baffled because after hearing a something like that, how could Tenjin still feel ill willed about Natsu?

Tenjin looked back at Lucy and said calmly, "I understand how you might feel after hearing that, but I was a child. I figured that after learning about your death, that he would come looking for me, but for 14 years, he hasn't."

Lucy shook her head in denial. "But he didn't know about you. I didn't let him know, and you said that I told Master to never let him know."

"Luce. I was a child and even I figured that after learning about your death, Makarov wouldn't have any reason to conceal your pregnancy from Natsu any more. If anything, telling Natsu would be important, because it meant that he had a child with you out there somewhere in the world. No one knew where you stayed for the last three years, and none of your spirits visited the guild in those years, so anyone would assume that your baby was probably alone. Makarov would have wanted to find your baby and bring it back to Fairy Tail."

Lucy knew that Tenjin was speaking the truth, but she didn't want to believe that Natsu would learn of his child and not go all out to find it. "There must be an explanation. Did Kieran find one in Natsu's memories?"

Tenjin shook his head. "Sadly, after that day when the guild found out you were dead, Kieran left and he's been with me ever since. When I learned all of this at ten years old, I realized that since I was two, my father hasn't sought me out, so I came to a conclusion. If he didn't seek me, I wouldn't seek him. The first time I met Natsu in person was in your time period."

Lucy's eyes widened and more tears streaked burn marks down her cheek. She couldn't believe that the Natsu of Tenjin's time didn't look for his child. She could imagine how deserted and unwanted Tenjin must have felt, and she wanted to weep for days for her son.

Tenjin stroked Lucy's cheek, ridding it of the wetness from her tears. "No, Lucy," he whispered tenderly, obviously reading her mind. "Deserted and unwanted? Never. I was loved and very much wanted by Kieran, but most importantly, by you." He pulled Lucy into a hug and rested his chin on her soft blonde hair. "I'm more angry at Natsu for not realizing that his life is nothing without you. If he would have realized that sooner, everything could have been avoided and you from my time would still be alive. That's why no matter what, I had to make him realize it now."

Lucy froze. "What do you mean you had to make him realize it now?"

Tenjin exhaled and brushed his jaw against her hair. "Remember when I first told you that me and Rex intercepted your team when they came after you?" Lucy nodded. "Well, I spoke to Natsu in his dream, and forced him to realize that you mean everything to him. There's no room for him to not understand his feelings for you because it would just be like my time. With him knowing now that your life is his entire world, he would defy everything and anything in order to get you back in it. He doesn't know that your baby is actually his because that would just put him over the edge, killing anyone who would stand in his way to get to you, but at least now he's more determined than in my time. Things already are changing so that the future would change too. It was important for me to do what I did, Luce. More for your sake than mine."

Lucy nodded her forehead on Tenjin's chest, not really knowing how she felt now that Natsu knew that he loved her. This whole time that Fairy Tail has been looking for her, she just assumed that they were doing it to get her back safe and sound, but with the feelings of being close nakama. Never did she think that Natsu was pursuing her because he loved her. Her Cheeks blushed crimson, and she was glad that her face was buried in Tenjin's shirt. But she cleared her mind and asked something that she needed to know. "Do you think you will ever forgive your father? He did lose his nakama and was traumatized. There has to be an explanation. Trust me, I know Natsu, and if he found out that I had his child, he would never abandon you."

Tenjin shrugged. "We'll see how your Natsu does, and then I'll decide whether mine is worth forgiving."

Lucy knew that was the only thing she was going to get out of him. She lifted her face from his shirt and sighed. "Even though you've told me a lot these past six months, there're still things I don't know about you."

"You know all that you need to know." Tenjin retorted.

"But not everything. You shield me too much. I'm your mother, I could handle just as much as you can. Probably more. Yet you tell me things like this only after I beg and become violent."

Tenjin laughed and stood up from the bed. "That's not true."

"Oh yeah?" Lucy challenged. "Then why haven't you told me the important stuff yet?"

"Like what?"

"Like about the Time lacrima sliver, or about your true magic…or about Blaez."

Tenjin's smile faltered and he sighed at Lucy's persistence. "Luce, in your condition, you only need to know the need-to-knows. If anything were to happen to you or your babies because of stress due to the things you learn about my time, and me, I wouldn't live with myself. Less stress means fewer burdens on the little ones. They already can't stand altercations, and they feel all of your emotions, like your sadness, and they already have the need to comfort you when you need it. If I burden you anymore by adding more to your plate, I'm scared that the stress it would cause you might make you give birth early. As much as I want to tell you all about my life, I need to put your health and care, and theirs, first," he said, pointing to Lucy's belly. "After they're born healthy and safe, you'll be told about everything."

Lucy stared in his eyes, searching for truth to his words, and when she found it, she relaxed a little and massaged her swollen stomach. "Fine," she sighed. "You're right. I just hate not knowing all about you."

"I know, but three months will pass by quickly. Just wait for me."

Lucy smiled at her son's choice of words, being reminded of her old romance novels. She didn't mention to him that he sounded like a lover going off to war, hoping that his woman would still be waiting for him to return. "Okay," she said.

"Good. Now are you hungry?"

She hadn't noticed, but she was feeling a little fatigued. And before she could open her mouth and respond, her stomach growled, answering for her.

Tenjin chuckled, and then headed for the door. "I'll go prepare something for you. Just relax and keep your feet up." Then he left for the kitchen, leaving Lucy alone.

With Tenjin out of the room, Lucy dropped her smile and looked at the window. The sky was darker than black, and there was no moon and little stars. "Natsu," she whispered and then tears dripped down her face unknowingly. "Please…" she started, but didn't know what she wanted to beg for, so she just put her hands to her face and quietly sobbed for a few minutes.

(*****)

In the kitchen, Tenjin was preparing a meal for Lucy when Rex walked in. "Did you feel it, boss?" Rex asked.

Tenjin paused in his task and stared at his partner with a serious expression. "Of course I did. This is dangerous. She's not even nine months pregnant. What are they thinking?"

Rex shrugged his shoulders and grabbed an apple from the fruit basket on the kitchen counter. He bit it and chewed in between talking. "What do you want to do? She's not safe here anymore. DJ has a place like this, but moving her means that they might get a chance to see her, and so does Fairy Tail."

"I know, but what choice do we have?"

"We can fight. We're tough on our own, but together, we're a force to be reckon with." Rex took another bite of his apple, not even appearing to be anxious.

"I'm not going to put Lucy in danger, nor am I going to leave her alone. And fighting this time would be catastrophic."

Rex shrugged again lethargically. "Well?"

Tenjin sighed heavily, shaking his head in disbelief. "Who would have thought that he would come here?"

"Well, he's just like you in a sense," Rex responded. "Maybe we should rethink involving Fairy Tail. They could be our greatest asset. We would still have Lucy, but their help would be—"

"No," Tenjin cut him off. "We'll just have to move her to DJ's." Tenjin continued preparing Lucy's food, running through his head all of the complications they will be going through.

"What are you going to tell her?" Rex asked.

Tenjin grew silent, and then, "She doesn't need to know about this. I'll tell her that we need to get to DJ's guild, so we have to move. I'm not going to add more stress to her body." He moved out of the kitchen and headed for Lucy's room.

"Whatever you say, boss. I just hope for your sake, and hers, that he doesn't get the chance to meet her."

Tenjin's voice dropped an octave and his face was a mask that struck terror in others. "He won't get the chance to. Rex, go do your thing."

For the first time in a while, Rex cracked his neck and back, and then he grinned mischievously. "With pleasure," and then he evaporated into a shadow through the floor.

Tenjin headed for Lucy's room to give her the food he prepared, his face shielding what he actually was feeling with a smile.

(*****)

At the forest entrance, a man stood gazing up at the tall, invisible trees. He pulled a red crystal from the pocket of his black pants and looked down at the glittering gem. "It's been a long time, huh brother?" the man said, while the wind blew through his short pink hair.

* * *

A/N: I already hear the gasps. Remember to Read & Review! And if you have any questions, write a review or a PM and I'll definitely get back to you.


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